


Liberation

by BlitzJV



Category: Naruto, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Hiruzen Does More, Naruto Goes On a Journey, Naruto Is Calmer, Uzumaki Naruto Leaves Konoha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:08:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlitzJV/pseuds/BlitzJV
Summary: When you feel slighted by everyone around you, you will try to escape it, even if it hurts you, even if you still wish for everything to be good again. That's exactly what Naruto did. He escaped a situation that was determined to keep him down and make sure he stayed there. He was let go by a city desperate to hurt him. He went somewhere that he appreciated and loved him for who he was, no matter the burden he carried, and he returned it with care. Now he walks on a road, looking forward in his road as the sunlight shined upon his path, instead of backward as the past tried to catch up with him. Now he walks with his Pokémon, proving all the doubters wrong and making sure he will end up great, no matter who tries to stop him.
Relationships: Decidueye and Naruto Uzumaki, Greninja and Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki, Naganadel and Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki and Brendan Birch, Naruto Uzumaki and Gladion, Naruto Uzumaki and Lillie, Naruto Uzumaki and Lusamine, Naruto Uzumaki and Professor Birch, Naruto Uzumaki and Professor Oak, Ninetails and Naruto Uzumaki, Sarutobi Hiruzen & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Unbreakable

**Unbreakable**

_“Naruto, make sure you are going to be okay. You will be all alone without a guardian to help you through the coming times, and I know your family won’t help you.” An old man with a white robe had said as he looked at a large boat with many people and pokemon._

_“Thank you, gramps.” a little boy with blond hair, purple eyes, and a small backpack had said to the old man._

_“I’ll be fine though, I’ll grow up to be an even greater trainer than you were in your prime!” He said with a big smile that only a six-year-old could muster up._

_The old man smiled and then looked toward the boat, seeing it was going to depart soon._

_“Remember Naruto…” He then looks to the sky and sees the shining horizon, then he looks back at the port and Wave City._

_“Let nothing hold you back from being great, your family and Konoha City tried to stop you from achieving your goals, but do not let them shackle you. Reach the top, and when you look at them to see them begging for forgiveness, liberate yourself from your longing emotions, and look towards the family you join next. Family are people and Pokemon who love you and will die for you, not just the blood of those who brought you into this world. Make a new family, and accept your past as something that ultimately strengthens you in the end, for I will always cheer you on until you reach the top. The symbols on your arm do not decide who you are, for they are just signs that you will be someone great.”_

_The blond-haired boy started tearing up as he got on the boat and looked at the old man. “When I get stronger, let’s have a battle. ME VS YOU!” He said with a choked sob as he tried to smile through the tears as Hiruzen saw the boat moving away from the port._

_“Make sure you become champion, Naruto. I expect nothing less than to see my grandchild become the best in the world.”_

_The old man then brought out a gold and black ball as it released and red energy revealed an old but battle-hardened draconic pokemon that had three heads, blue and red fur and black wings._

_“Hydreigon, take us back to Konoha City.”_

_It roared a mighty roar, garnering the attention of the entire port as many people began to whisper and mutter about the pokemon as the old man got on and it flew away. The blonde-haired boy crying his eyes out as the boat’s foghorn blasted open as it started pulling away from the port. The child whispers one last sentence as he looks at the old man flying away, tears running down his cheeks as many people felt pity for the child._

_“Thank you… Grandpa Hiruzen…”_

**_“For Everything…”_ **

_The boat moved towards the open sea, and the captain’s voice came on for everyone to hear._

_“Alright people, the next stop from Wave City in the Kaiho Region is Slateport City in the Hoenn Region. Prepare for departure, it will be an eight-day journey with smooth sailing and clear skies the whole way. Thanks for riding the S.S. Wailord.” The captain’s voice rang out as all people went to their rooms on the ship as Naruto stopped his tears and looked towards the horizon. His violet eyes shined in the sunlight as he couldn’t look away from the absolute beauty the horizon had shown as the sun’s light connected with the sea and made water look shining orange instead of cool blue._

_He admired the beauty of it all as he tightened his fists, breathed in the fresh air and stared at the horizon. He knew the past was behind him; his emotions couldn’t be manipulated by them anymore; his mind could be cleared now instead of the shadows that overtook them during the major amounts of mental stress and physical strain he endured while at that cursed city. He could look forward now without having to look back over his shoulder the very next second. He felt free. He felt safe._

**_He Felt Liberated_ **

* * *

A teenage boy with blonde hair and violet eyes sat in a tree staring at the sky while underneath all the shade. They looked to be about 5’11 with an unzipped orange and black hoodie with a white shirt that had a fox design in orange in the middle. He also had black pants, Black Jordan 4’s, and a bandaged right arm as he put his hands behind his head and breathed deeply, before slowly exhaling the large breath he took in as he experienced what the calming air and nice weather had felt like. He looked around to see multiple Tailow’s flying around the tree line as he then looked down to see multiple Poochyena and Hoenn Zigzagoon playing around on the ground around the Lab.

He then sat up and put his back against the tree, and looked to see his hometown as of 9 years ago when he first arrived at the place. Littleroot Town was a small town, almost unheard of if it wasn’t for the main Professor of Hoenn, and he enjoyed every second of him being here. The peaceful air of the town and the friendly people enticed him to stay, and he never regretted making that choice as everyone in Littleroot became dear to him, far more special than anybody in Konoha besides the old man.

He then shook his head and looked down to see something lying in the branch next to him, it was a frog-like pokemon with a dark blue and cyan color scheme, yellow pupils and cyan eyelids as it had a noticeable scarf full of bubbles. It was his first pokemon, his best friend **Genji** , also known as a Frogadier. Naruto met it when he went through the forests of Hoenn and found it in an unknown pool, miles away from human contact. Froakie at the time had been abandoned by its mother and father and left alone in Hoenn, never making it back to its main region of Kalos. Naruto found their stories quite similar, almost exactly the same, so they bonded and it became Naruto’s first pokemon. From then on, Froakie helped Naruto reach Littleroot Town, and the two became inseparable, almost never apart from the other as wherever Naruto went, Froakie and when it evolved into Frogadier would follow as a silent protector of the first human to ever be its friend.

“Genji, should we go visit **Olympus**? I am almost positive they are done with their final clearance so we can begin our journey.” Naruto asked his starter in a relaxed voice as he sat up and looked to see his starter with one eye opened as it waved its hand.

 _“ **Froga- Frogadier** ” _ It said as it waved its hand to tell Naruto to go away as it was resting.

He simply chuckled with amusement as he hopped out of the tree and walked towards his home, the one he had been in since the moment he arrived in Littleroot.

* * *

 _(_ **Flashback- 9 Years Ago** _)_

_Naruto and Froakie had gotten out of the Forests and ended up within a small town surrounded by forests with a Poke-Mart and Center as they looked around to see people in their houses with the house lights on as it was the evening with the sun going down. They went over to the Pokemon Center as the doors automatically opened to reveal multiple healing machines and people lined up with many types of people staying at tables or renting rooms to stay in for the night._

_Naruto walked up to the front desk with Froakie on his shoulder as he looked up to see a woman with bright pink hair styled and in a nurse’s outfit with a light-pink pokemon with an egg in its pouch pushing around a cart full of Pokeballs that needed to be healed. She saw him standing at the front desk and wondered what someone so young was doing out so late._

_“Hello young one, what are you doing here so late?” She said in a kind voice as she looked to see Naruto in a disheveled outfit along with Froakie on his shoulder, looking around at the modern technology this place held._

_“Well, first I would like you to heal this little guy.” Naruto petted Froakie on its head as it showed its affection, “and I would like to know directions to Littleroot Town.”_

_“Well, we can always heal your Pokemon for free, but why would you need to go to Littleroot Town this late at night, shouldn’t your parents be here to get you?”_

_Naruto’s mood suddenly dipped as Nurse Joy knew she had said the wrong thing at that moment, as he had seemed to be saddened by the very mention of his parents. So she simply pointed south as Naruto focused back on her as he looked to where she was pointing._

_“Littleroot Town is simply a straight journey down from here, right now you are in Oldale Town. We will heal your Froakie up and then you will be good.” She said in a reassuring tone as he nodded and put a smile back on his face, a real one unlike the fake smiles he continued to use in Konoha as she went with him while watching Froakie get healed. He watched while thinking about his journey here. He then felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Nurse Joy smile at him and ask him something._

_“Young man, why do you need to go to Littleroot Town at this moment? Shouldn’t you stay here for the night?” She asked concerningly as he looked back at Froakie._

_“I heard it was a place where the main professor lived, and I need to ask him for a special favor.” He said seriously as she nodded in acceptance, as it seemed he was just determined._

_“Have a good day, and remember, the Pokemon Center is always open for you.” Nurse Joy said at the desk as Naruto and Froakie walked out and continued as it was Dusk. They ran towards Littleroot, bypassing both wild pokemon and trainers as they finally saw a sign called, “_ **_Welcome to Littleroot Town, where Trainers begin the start of their new lives._ ** _” He and Froakie both looked around and smiled at each other, then walked toward the largest building as they admired the amazing scenery. The moon was out as they heard multiple Mightyena howling in the distance as they saw multiple houses close their lights and the people in them went to sleep. Naruto took a tense breath and let it go, emptying his conflicting emotions as he walked into the lab, seeing an assistant looking at a PC box and researching something._

_“Hello!” Naruto said as the assistant jumped out of his seat and both Naruto and Froakie started snickering._

_“Arceus young man, you scared the living hell out of me.” The assistant fixed his lab coat as he walked up to Naruto, taking in his character._

_“_ **_It seems he is not from around here, as his look doesn’t seem to be from Hoenn. He also looks very young, suggesting that he just moved to this location. He also has a Froakie, a Kalos starter which may suggest he’s from Kalos._ ** _”_

_“Excuse me young man, but why are you here? We normally don’t get many people coming to the lab at night.” The assistant said as he looked at Naruto as he smiled a shining grin._

_“We are here to see Professor Birch, he is the only person who can help us!” “_ **_FRO_ ** _!” Both exclaimed while putting their hands, or in Froakie’s case webbed hand outwards in a fist._

_“Uh huh, and why is the professor the only one who can help you.” He asked with a confused look as he stared at the two._

_“That’s classified information.” The assistant face-vaulted as Naruto giggled and then got up._

_“Well, if you are looking for the Professor, he should be outside in the back doing field research. Make sure you also tell him to come inside, since the Mightyena come out at this time and he doesn’t have any of his Pokemon on him.”_

_Naruto and Froakie both nodded with a smile on their faces as Naruto ran through the back door as the assistant sweat dropped and continued with his work. Naruto awed at the moon above the tree line as he saw multiple pokemon sleeping in the trees and watching over him as he gave them all smiles as Froakie looked around for the professor. They then heard an ear-piercing scream as they heard a deep voice yell, “SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP ME!” He rushed in the voice's direction as pokemon were easily startled by the sudden scream and Naruto looked to see a man in his mid-20s being cornered by a Mightyena._

_“Froakie, Use a move and distract the Mightyena!” Naruto said as he ran towards the professor as Froakie immediately pounced and created a pulsing sphere of water in its webbed hands and shot it at the Mightyena, who was surprised by the blast of water and sent into a tree. It then created multiple copies of itself and each copy picked up a rock and shot it at the Mightyena, who was again caught off guard and knocked out by Froakie._

_Naruto simply stared at Froakie, being amazed at what it could do and how it easily defeated a pokemon much bigger than itself. He smiled and pet the Froakie, and it immediately cooed in affection._

_“Nice job Froakie, you’re very powerful.”_

_“_ **_Fro, froakie_ ** _.” It said affectionately as the man saw the knocked out Mightyena and walked toward the pair. He thought to himself as he saw the pair interact, “_ **_I don’t think this young boy actually caught the pokemon, but it listened to him without a moment’s rest and immediately became jelly with the boy’s touch._ ** _” He then finally talked as both Naruto and the Froakie looked at him._

_“Thank you young man, for saving as no one else was around. But why are you here right now?” He asked concerningly as this boy was supposed to be with a family right about now._

_“Oh, that’s simple.” He then picked Froakie up and put it on his shoulders as they both looked at him with fire in their eyes._

_“May I have a PokeBall, so I can catch my new friend?!” He said with a glint in his eyes as he hopefully looked at the professor, who just simply stared at him._

_“What’s your name, kid?” He asked with a chuckle as the kid’s energy confused him but also made him chuckle._

_“My name is Naruto, and I will be the greatest Pokemon Champion of all time, and I always keep my word!” He said in a high-pitched voice as he and Froakie both looked at the Professor with fire in their eyes and souls as their passion had already burned so hard, the professor noticed it._

_“Well Naruto, my name is Owen Birch, and I am the Pokemon Professor of Hoenn. Nice to meet you.” He said as they both shook hands._

_(_ **_Flashback End_ ** _)_

* * *

Naruto walked back to the lab, taking in every step of the way as he thought about his future. Today was the first day of his journey, considering the age of Trainers had been moved from 10 to 15 due to the increasing amount of worry from multiple parents about their children being severely injured or put under the threat of death so early in their lives. He didn’t mind though, as it gave him a chance to appreciate his childhood before the first day of his new life confronted him.

He had a new family, Professor Birch, his wife Sophie, and their son Brendan. He joined them and experienced why some families just fit your dynamic so well. He and Brendan were always competing, always trying to one-up the other, and Birch supported that as he wanted them to be strong for the future. Sophie simply took care of the family, a mother hen to everyone around.

“Naruto, it seems you are ready to get Olympus and get the whole spiel about your journey.” He looked to see his father-figure standing at the door, his sandals and iconic bag on his shoulder as Naruto just smiled at him.

“Well, I think it is about time that the Combee leaves the hive to become much stronger. Plus, you have been pressuring me to go for about a couple of months now.” He said with a calm tone as Birch then looked to see Frogadier in the tree laying in the shade.

“Did you ever figure out what your side-goal is? I know you want to be a Pokémon Trainer, but are there any things on the side that you would like to do?” Birch asked with a sly smirk on his face.

“I’m not going to take over the lab Birch, you will not coax me into doing that, at least not yet.” Naruto remarked with a laugh as Birch had shadows over his face.

“My son doesn’t want to take over the family business, and he even refuses to call me father. I’M SO HURT!” He said while dropping to the ground and fake-crying.

“I swear, people would think you are a Pokémon if you continue to use those fake tears to guilt-trip me. But I decided I want to be a researcher of mythical and legendary Pokémon as well as the ultra beasts and multiple phenomenon that occur within our world. There are so many opportunities and new Pokémon to explore, it’s something that has been on my mind for quite some time.” Naruto said with a smile as he looked up towards the sun.

“See, and this is why I want you to inherit the Professor title from me. At least you focus on other things and actually become an assistant to me in the lab, I swear Brendan has such a one-track mind when it comes to battling.” Birch said as he facepalmed and Naruto chuckled thinking about his brother. He had gotten his Pokémon two weeks ago and had started on his journey immediately after. He was already making tons of progress with his bonds and gym battles.

“Brendan will be an amazing trainer, we both know he will. There are 9 months until the next Ever Grande City Tourney, and I want to learn to love and experience my journey. He just wants to go straight through and ignore the beauty around him, but he charges ahead with no fear in his mind.” Naruto snorted while thinking about his brother’s **charge first, asking questions later** attitude.

“I know, and you both make me proud to have raised you, even if you weren’t born with us. Now let’s go get Olympus, and you will begin the journey of a lifetime.”

Naruto and Birch both walked into the lab, seeing his main assistant looking at and scanning a blue PokeBall with white lines and golden arcs around the front. The scan was shown to be at 100% completion as it finally ended and the green scanner stopped shining as the assistant turned around and saw the two at the scanner.

“Hello Professor, Hello Naru, your Pokémon is finished with the final scan. You can pick it up now.” He said with a smile as Naruto and him shook hands.

“Thanks for everything, Murphy, I’ll be sure to include you in my auto-biography.” He said with a laugh as Murphy then chuckled and said, “Well thank you for helping me with the enormous workload of the lab. It gets tough cleaning up after this old man.” He said while Birch murderously glared at the two before grunting and cursing to himself.

“Fucking kids…” He mumbled to himself as Naruto and Murphy laughed at his disdain. 

“Well, let’s check on you now. Come on out, Olympus!.” Blue and red energy shot out of the ball as Naruto pressed the button and revealed a purple pokemon with a large head with three spikes on it and small limbs as it floated in midair. It had large oval eyes and a mouth all colored cyan. It opened its eyes for the first time in hours as it saw Naruto and immediately floated around him excitedly.

 _“_ **_Poi, Poipole_ ** _!”_ It said with happiness in its voice as Naruto grabbed it and held it in the air, making sure not to touch its poisonous spikes. 

“Hey Olympus, glad you are finally done with that scan. Are you ready to become the best in the world?” Naruto exclaimed as the Poipole started cheering and floating around again.

 _“_ **_Poi_ ** _!”_ It said as it did multiple flips in the air and both Birch and Murphy looked at the two and smiled. They remembered when Naruto had gotten that Poipole, as they went with him to study it.

* * *

 _(_ **Flashback- 4 Years Ago** _)_

_Professor Birch, Murphy and Naruto with his brand-new Frogadier that evolved two days before the flight had gone to Alola for Birch to get new information about the Ultra Beasts after he had received a report from his colleagues Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet about the Ultra Beast outbreak and how it was handled by the reformed Aether Foundation and their combined efforts. Birch was the first of the main researchers besides Oak himself to learn about them, and he brought Naruto along as Brendan had visited Johto to visit Professor Elm with Sophie._

_“So Naruto, when you get there make sure you stay around me as we will be going to a major Pokemon foundation within Alola and I want you to learn everything about these types of Pokemon, as this is uncharted territory for the rest of the world besides Alola.”_

_Naruto simply nodded as he was simply speechless. He looked outside the window to see multiple Islands and pokemon in the sky and ocean below as they prepared for landing. He hadn’t felt this sensation since leaving his home region for Hoenn, and Alola looked absolutely beautiful from his perspective so far. He gripped the Ultra Ball that held his first partner and prepared for any and everything to happen._

_The pilot’s voice came on the speaker as it rang out to the people on the plane, “_ **_Now entering Akala International Airport._ ** _”_

_The plane eventually landed, and Birch looked through the airport and saw his old friend from Kanto._

_“Kukui, it’s nice to see you again after so long my friend.” Birch said as a man with tanned skin, an open lab coat with a six-pack, goggles and a white hat walked up to them._

_“Alola, my good friend Birch. It’s nice to see you again after so long.” The man had said as he looked at his old friend and shook his hand. He then looked to see Naruto standing right next to Birch. “And who’s this little guy? You already had a second son with Sophie?” He said smugly as Birch just rolled his eyes and remarked, “Yet you just now put a ring around Burnet’s finger.” He said with a smug smile as Kukui sputtered before gaining a small blush while looking at the ring on his hand._

_“Anyway, this is Naruto. I adopted him when he was 6 and he became a fantastic son to have and one of the best assistants a professor can have. I honestly couldn’t have asked for better sunshines in my life, and he and Brendan are my pride and joy.” He said while ruffling Naruto’s hair and Murphy muttering, “You only have two assistants.”_

_“Well Naruto, how do you like Alola so far? Are you finding it nice?” Kukui said with a smile as Naruto smiled back and he fist pumped saying, “I love it so far! The natural beauty of the islands that I’ve seen and the variety of pokemon honestly make me love this place more and more.”_

_“I’m glad you seem to like it here, maybe you will start your journey here when the trainer age comes around for you?” He said with a smirk at Birch as he responded with, “Naruto will have his first journey around a region in Hoenn and only Hoenn. Maybe the second region he travels will be Alola though.” They then both looked at Naruto who simply smiled and looked out the window to see all the flying pokemon._

_“Well then, let’s take you to your place of residence right now and then we will discuss our research and maybe catch up on old times.” Kukui said as he started walking towards their vehicle. Birch simply snorted in amusement as he, Naruto and Murphy all brought their suitcases to the jeep and Kukui drove them around as Naruto admired the scenery of the city that they were in._

_“So Birch, how do you like Akala Island so far? It is the first time you have ever been here, so I am curious.” Kukui said as he kept his eyes on the road._

_“This is the life, me and Sophie might as well visit here when the boys are on their journey.” He said while putting his feet up and putting his hands behind his head._

_“We have a house able for rent next to us, so if you want you could come here in 4 years.”_

_“Sounds good, Naruto do you want to start your journey immediately so I can rest here?” He said with a yawn as Naruto was too astounded to care. He watched as they went on a dirt road and saw the multiple pokemon that were native to the Alola Region and grew more and more excited to be a trainer when he was older. 30 minutes later, they arrived at a beach house and a white-haired, tan woman walked out with a blonde-haired woman with white clothes. Kukui got out of the car and gave the white-haired woman a short, wet kiss on the lips as Birch said, “Finally, my old friend has become a man!” He then shed manly tears as the white-haired woman punched him down as the blonde-haired woman giggled and Kukui bellowed a laugh._

_“Birch, next time you taunt me or Kukui, you will be receiving the same treatment.” She then saw Naruto and smiled at him as he stared at the ocean, “And I see you brought a little one with you.” She then tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around as his violet eyes shined in the sun and his blonde hair glistened even more than the blonde woman’s._

_“Hello young one, my name is Burnet, and I am another professor of Alola. It’s nice to meet you.” She said with a smile he considered as sincere as the one Nurse Joy’s usually gives people._

_“Hi, my name is Naruto, it is a great pleasure to meet you Professor Burnet.” He said as he shook her hand and she said with a slight giggle, “My, the amount of manners this young boy has. He’s way more mannered than you ever were Birch.” Birch had shadows around his head as Kukui laughed at him and the blonde woman walked up to both Burnet and Naruto._

_“Hello there, my name is Lusamine, and I’m the president of the Aether Foundation and creator of Aether Paradise. It’s nice to meet you.” She said as she towered over Naruto who stood and smiled at her._

_“Hello, Ms. Lusamine, it’s really nice to meet someone so decorated and passionate when it comes to Pokemon Protection!” He said with a grin as she giggled and said, “My, he really is mannered, as well as articulate. Professor you really hit the jackpot with him.”_

_“Well, he is going to be the one to take the world by storm. He’s my little Maelstrom.” He said with a bellow of laughter as Naruto slightly blushed from the nickname as the adults chuckled from his embarrassment._

_“I am confused though, you two look nothing alike, and it seems he isn’t even from Hoenn.” Lusamine remarked innocently as Naruto then looked slightly down as Birch then just ruffled his hair and said, “I adopted Naruto when he was 6. He’s actually from the Kaiho Region but came here as his parents before me and my wife Sophie weren’t the best. He traveled to Littleroot, and he’s been a bright spot ever since, always a boundless amount of energy.” Birch responded with pride in his voice as Naruto blushed and looked away as Kukui said, “Kaiho huh, I heard they re-established their Elite Four ever since they started rebuilding their cities since the Groudon attack.. Isn’t Hiruzen Sarutobi the new professor?.” He said while the adults all conversed and Naruto unnoticeably smiled._

_“Well, Birch, you will be staying at Aether Paradise along with your son and assistant. The boat here will be the ride, and I will show you to your rooms there. Let’s go.”_

_Lusamine, Kukui, Burnet, Birch, Naruto and Murphy all got on the boat as Naruto held Genji’s Ultra Ball in his right hand for when he would meet new pokemon and get to know them more and more. As the boat continued to jet forward as the adults all had civil conversations, he looked over the water and saw the multiple water types. He saw white fish with teary eyes, red fish with sharp fins, large blue serpents, multiple pod-like creatures, and whale pokemon. He grew more and more infatuated with pokemon as he admired the beauty of the ocean and how it comforted him as underneath his bandages on his right arm, a light blue rune appeared but soon dimmed and disappeared as they approached the artificial island._

_Naruto looked to see multiple enormous white buildings and lush green grass surrounded by the ocean for miles to come. People in white-clad uniforms signaled the boat in as they all had either serious looks or smiles on their faces as Lusamine waved to her foundation members as an auburn-haired woman with pink glasses and a white lab coat and a middle-aged man with green glasses and gloves walked out to greet Lusamine with a young boy in black clothes and a young girl in a white dress with the same light blonde hair._

_“Lusamine, it’s nice to see you back here with us again.” The woman said as Lusamine just nodded with a light smile and said, “Wicke, I was only gone for two days.” She then looked at the two children and smiled lovingly at them. “Gladion, Lillie, I’m sorry that I was gone for so long.” She said as she walked over and hugged the two of them, the boy scrunching his face with a small blush and the girl looking shy._

_“It’s nice to see you too, mother.” Gladion said with a small blush as he was embarrassed by the hug and the other adults just laughed._

_Lillie was too shy to speak up, and she saw Naruto who just smiled at her, so she looked away even more as Gladion looked to see Naruto, Birch and the others._

_“Who are these guys?” He said, pointing at Naruto and Birch._

_“My son, that is the great Professor Owen Birch of the Hoenn Region and his son, Naruto. Birch is going to be the first of many professors from other regions to visit our great island.” She said with a soft but peaceful tone as Gladion looked at Naruto and walked up to him._

_“He doesn’t look so tough.” He said with a smirk as Naruto glared and said, “Oh yeah! You don’t even want to try to come at me.”_

_“Well, maybe I wouldn’t want to come at such a loudmouth!” He said as they both glared at each other and the adults either chuckled or giggled._

_“It seems they are already getting along with each other seamlessly.” Burnet said as Lusamine just giggled as Gladion and Naruto continued to glare at each other as they were sizing the other up._

_“Lillie, why don’t you go show Naruto around with Gladion while me and the adults have a chat?” Lusamine said with a smile as Lillie shyly nodded and walked with Gladion and Naruto as they simply huffed and looked away while walking inside the main building._

_“Now…” Lusamine then grinned as she looked toward the adults, “Let’s go share our research!”_

___________________________________________________________________

_“So, how is Hoenn different from Alola? I swear it’s just all warm weather over here and mostly ocean over there.” Gladion said with his hands behind his back as Naruto replied with, “and Alola isn’t? I swear all I have seen so far was the ocean.” Naruto said with a sarcastic tone as Gladion scoffed._

_“Uhm, I think Hoenn looked really cool from what I have seen so far…” Lillie said quietly as Naruto and Gladion both turned to her._

_“You can’t be serious Lillie, Alola is way better than Hoenn has any right to be. Mt. Lanakila, Vast Poni Canyon,, all the trial areas, and don’t forget every other island in Alola. What does Hoenn have, Mt. Pyre?” Gladion said with a snort as Naruto came to the defense of his region._

_“It’s not just Mt. Pyre, but also Mt. Chimney and the Seafloor Caverns as well. Adding onto those are Sootopolis City, Lilycove City, Mossdeep City, Fortree City and Sky Pillar, and the list goes on and on. Don’t even get me started on the Battle Frontier.” He said with a smirk as Gladion glared as Alola was still creating a final league and wasn’t slated to have a Battle Frontier style area for another 4 years._

_“They also have some of the most famous trainers in history, Pyramid King Brandon and Champion Steven Stone. Then there’s the Devon Corporation and…” “ALRIGHT, I GET IT!” Gladion had interrupted Lillie as she flinched back heavily as he suddenly lost all of his anger._

_“Sorry for trash talking your home.” He said begrudgingly as he looked at his sister and she nodded timidly, making sure he knows she is okay._

_Naruto saw how distressed Lillie was and immediately nodded with shame on his face. “Same, and sorry for making your sister even more distressed than before.”_

_Gladion just nodded with his hand on his face and the normal blank look that he had on as he and Lillie showed Naruto around the Aether Foundation and its many floors and rooms._

_“This here is the psychic type resort, and it is specially run by that man with green-glasses, also known as Faba.” Gladion said with a grunt and thought of how Faba would gush over psychic type pokemon._

_“Yeah… Mr. Faba used to be a champion-caliber trainer before becoming a huge member of Aether with mother, he is quite eccentric…” Lillie whispered as Naruto thought about the old man he had seen and his duplicitous smile and the way he seemed to study his group as soon as they walked in, almost like he was ready to defend it from harm._

_“It seems he is really passionate about his job and pokemon.” He said while somewhat grasping Genji’s Ultra Ball and staying alert._

_“He definitely is, and that woman you saw down there is the literal opposite of him. Ms. Wicke can either be as nice as a Nurse Joy, or as disastrous as a Salamence depending on her mood.” Gladion said with a monotone voice that betrayed his thoughts as he was terrified of the woman’s mood swings._

_Lillie flinched at the thought of Wicke’s mood swings, as the woman could turn from a nice lady to a Giratina within a second if she got pissed off._

_Naruto looked at the two and raised his eyebrows and snorted in amusement, as he already had the fear of Arceus put into him by his birth mother and her rages, so he wasn’t afraid as he already had dealt with worse._

_“Hey Gladion, you have a pokemon or a starter you want to choose?” Naruto asked with a tilt of his head as he saw Gladion’s face change from the same blank stare to now emphasizing a bit of surprise from the question Naruto asked out of nowhere. He soon went back to his normal blank stare as he responded with, “Yeah, I have one. I just can’t tell you though.” Naruto looked at his eyes and saw the passion burning within them, so he knew Gladion was passionate about getting whichever starter he wanted._

_“Well, do you want to see my starter? I obviously can’t do a league challenge yet, but we’ve been together for a long time.” Gladion simply nodded as Lillie stared at the both of them, noticing how both seemed to get a certain amount of respect for the other in the very short time they had known each other._

_“Well then, come on out Genji!” He threw his Ultra Ball up into the air as blue energy released and then shaped to be his Frogadier._

_“_ **_Froga, Frogadier_ ** _” It said with a tick mark as it was enjoying a nap as Naruto sighed and said with a calm tone before he started yelling, “Sorry Genji, but I have two people that wish to meet you, so please be respectful.”_

_Genji had looked to see two other children around Naruto’s age staring at him, one with supposed boredom although you could see the interest in his eyes as the other one wowed with a timid voice._

_“_ **_Frog-Frogadier_ ** _” It said as it stood and bowed to Lillie like a normal human would and then stared at Gladion with the same amount of intensity he was giving it._

_“I thought you came from Hoenn, how do you have a starter from Kalos?” Lillie said with an awed voice as Gladion and Genji continued to stare at each other until Gladion looked away and said quietly, “I can see you have raised it well. The emotions flooding in its eyes, the posture, and even its eye movements. They all show that this Frogadier is ready to protect you at all costs as it is constantly on alert.” He finished with a nod of respect to which Naruto and Genji both nodded back._

_Naruto then turned to Lillie as Frogadier looked around and said, “Well, I found Genji when he was a Froakie in the middle of uncharted Hoenn Territory, as I use the unnamed forests of Hoenn to get to Littleroot Town from Slateport City. I found him there when I was 6 years old, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.” He said as he rubbed Genji’s head and its heartbeat immediately calmed and it started saying its name in affection._

_“Wait, are you from Hoenn or did you go there from another region.?” Lillie asked with an innocent tone as they suddenly saw shadows over his face as his Frogadier suddenly glared at them. They knew exactly what this look was, as they had that same look from when they were asked about their father._

_“I don’t want to speak on it, just know my home region doesn’t matter to me anymore, the world is my home now.” He said as he looked at the two and shook his head, “I can see that you are sorry, so I apologize for getting mad. I can also see you recognize the look on my face, so I won’t ask you about your past until you are truly comfortable with me.” He said with wisdom a ten-year-old shouldn’t normally have._

_Gladion and Lillie both nodded as they continued to walk around, not noticing a blue portal begin to form around them as a purple spiked head began to pop out as a noise came from the portal and crystal blue eyes looked at Naruto and Genji._

_“_ **_Poi_ ** _”_

* * *

_“And as you can see, this is our Ultra Beast lab. This is where we can precisely locate where Ultra Wormholes are located and which Ultra Beast comes out, so we can immediately react and take care of them, and deliver them back to their home dimension.” Lusamine said with a proud look as the rest of the professors looked around at the state-of-the-art tech and the many Aether workers and their pokemon working to their fullest capabilities._

_“Damn, you really have everything in order huh, Oak would commend you for this type of Pokémon care.” Birch said with a whistle as Lusamine giggled and said, “Trust me, when his cousin Samson told me of Oak’s thoughts, I felt very proud of myself and my staff for what we had done when it came to Pokémon Research and the many Ultra Beasts that live in Ultra Space.”_

_“It was indeed a fine pleasure to have you guide us, Lady Lusamine.” Faba said with a posh-like tone as he bowed slightly as Wicke smiled at her eccentric friend and said, “I agree with Faba, Lady Lusamine. Nothing of this caliber would’ve been possible without your drive and passion for Pokémon Protection.”_

_Lusamine giggled once again and then walked up to a lab desk and pulled out a crate of multiple designed PokeBalls with a dark blue color and golden arcs surrounding the front._

_“This is our greatest creation so far, the_ **_Beast Ball._ ** _This special type of PokeBall is the only one capable of capturing an Ultra Beast besides Silph Co’s newest creation, the_ **_Master Ball_ ** _. The Beast Ball releases a special frequency that matches Ultra Space, and any other PokeBall will cease to function if you try to catch an Ultra Beast with it.” She says with a proud tone as Birch, Kukui, and Burnett all looked at the beautifully designed PokeBall._

_“Birch, as proof that the Aether Foundation and Hoenn Pokémon Lab are partnered together for the future. I would like for you to have a case of these Beast Balls, as there are multiple Ultra Wormholes around the world, but the biggest congregate of them are in Alola, Hoenn, and Unova, so I will allow you to bring these Beast Balls with you back to Hoenn, and when the Ultra Beasts appear, you can actually stand your ground.” Lusamine said with a beaming smile as Birch shook her hand and said, “Your invention and research has already had so many Pokémon Professors in awe of your foundation’s ability and cause, so it would be a true honor if I could take these back home with me. Your hospitality truly surprises me.” He said with a bellow of laughter as the rest of the adults chuckled._

_“LADY LUSAMINE! LADY LUSAMINE!” A worker’s voice then interrupted the group as multiple panicked workers ran at Lusamine as she saw the panic written on their faces._

_“Yes, what happened? What is the reason you have interrupted my tour?” She said with a sour look on her face as the alarms went off, blaring into their ears as a worker finally responded with, “My lady, there is an Ultra Beast within the Foundation, and the wormhole is right next to the children.”_

* * *

_Naruto, Gladion and Lillie all went to the roof and looked out towards the sea, looking at multiple patrolling boats and Pokémon surrounding the artificial island._

_“Let me ask you two something…” Gladion and Lillie both turned to Naruto and saw him looking toward where the sun and ocean met._

_“Have you ever gotten the feeling that traveling is something you absolutely must do, whether it’s finding a purpose, get away from the past, or just simply for fun?” He asked while his violet eyes glimmered in the sunlight as Lillie had to look away with a very slight blush and Gladion shut his eyes and then looked in the same direction Naruto was looking at. “I’ll be honest with you. Some people don’t need to go on journeys, and the people that don’t have nothing going for them in life. If you are in your pre-teen to teenage years and simply have no plans of a journey, you aren’t living correctly. Whether you want to be in contests, a trial captain, gym battler, elite four member, or simple jobs like a marketer or pilot, a journey gives you these opportunities to find out what you want to do. I plan to go on a journey in my future…” Lillie and Naruto both looked to see his arms crossed and Gladion staring at the sun with a slight smirk, “And that’s when I’ll know what my true purpose is. Destiny isn’t real, you create your own journey and life and follow by that ideal until the day you feel fulfilled, and that’s when you know when you feel liberated from your doubts, when you look back and find nothing wrong with the path you chose in your life.” He finished as Lillie stared at him and resonated with her brother’s words as Naruto nodded and said,_

_“Wisdom to live by in life. In a couple years when you start your journey, meet me again…” Gladion looked towards Naruto and saw the conviction and fire in his eyes, “And see where our journeys will lead us, as the only way we can truly know is if we test each other’s convictions.” Naruto said with a grin as Gladion for the first time showed full emotion on his face as they both grinned at each other as their words continued to resonate with Lillie, who was mulling to herself in the background about what she was going to do for her journey._

_“_ **_I will figure out what I want to do with my life, just like they will!_ ** _”_

_“Don’t forget me…” Both Naruto and Gladion both looked to see Lillie debating on whether to continue speaking before she said, “Just like you two, I need to find out what I wish to do, so don’t count me out just yet.” She said with the most passionate voice she had ever come up with as Gladion smirked with satisfaction at seeing his sister so passionate and Naruto grinned with a thumbs up._

_“_ **_POI_ ** _” The three were then startled by a Pokémon as they turned around to see an alien-like pokemon floating in mid air watching them._

_Naruto immediately went to try to scan it with the pokedex Birch normally let him use, but the pokemon that he scanned was unavailable and he had absolutely no info._

_“Lillie, this thing might be an Ultra Beast…” Gladion whispered quietly while Lillie’s eyes widened massively at the thought of an Ultra Beast that was right in front of them that could attack at any moment._

_“Uhm, hey.” Both turned around in shock as they saw Naruto approach the creature and it continued to float in place, not moving a single inch._

_“It’s nice to meet you, whichever pokemon you are.” He said as he walked up and put his hand out as the “pokemon” floated its way towards him, inching across with every second becoming slower and slower as they did not know whether it was a hostile pokemon._

_Naruto’s hand pressed firmly against the top of its head, dodging the spikes as he continued to rub his hands against the scales that the pokemon had as it said its name in appreciation multiple times._

_“_ **_Poi, Poipole_ ** _”_

_“Is that your name, are you a Poipole?” Naruto asked as it then started floating around him and saying its name continuously._

_“So it’s not hostile?” Gladion asked as he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as he and Lillie both walked up and saw the pokemon up close as it continued to play with Naruto._

_It then floated in between Lillie and Gladion and sat on Lillie’s hat and then in Gladion’s hoodie as Lillie panicked and Gladion grunted before finally settling on Naruto’s head as it stayed there and looked at its surroundings from his head._

_“Uhm, should we report this to your mom?” Naruto asked as he feared Lusamine might get mad if he didn’t tell her and caused a huge fuss._

_“No need, I heard the alarm downstairs, she’ll probably be up in around 30 seconds if she is not pissed.”_

_“_ **_Poi-Poi_ ** _,” Poipole looked at the person it was on and pointed towards the ocean._

_“Do you want to go there?” Naruto asked simply as it started making noises of joy and flew around his head._

_He then looked at Gladion and Lillie and said, “Well, let’s go check out the ocean.”_

_The three of them along with Poipole went down an elevator that took them to the shipyard as they heard rumbling behind them and looked to see many Aether members coming outside spear-headed by Lusamine, Wicke and Faba as Burnett, Kukui, Birch and Murphy stood back._

_Lusamine looked specifically at the Poipole that was floating around Naruto and stared at it until it eventually hid behind him timidly while he turned his head around to see it clinging onto his hood._

_“Naruto, step away from the Ultra Beast, we do not know if it is hostile or friendly.” Lusamine said concerningly while also making sure her children were okay while she sauntered towards the trio._

_“Oh, you mean Poipole, it’s very friendly. Hasn’t attacked us once!” Naruto said with a boisterous outburst that followed with Poipole copying his movements and then he chuckled as the adults looked on, some Aether members snickering with amusement at his innocence to the Ultra Beast._

_Gladion and Lillie both nodded, Gladion’s a lot more noticeable as he comforted his sister somewhat as he stood beside her holding her shoulder while she took deep breaths due to all the stares she was receiving._

_Lusamine stood in front of the three as she continued to study the Poipole, many Aether members getting worried when she continued to stand without moving a single inch or taking any breaths as they each took a step forward, but she raised her arm and motioned for them to take a step back as she said with a humorous tone, “Well, at least we finally have one we can study, and it seems to trust you. How delightful.”_

_A couple hours had passed, and Naruto was at the scanning lab with Poipole having fun with it along with Lillie while Lusamine and Birch talked in the background._

_“We have discovered a new Ultra Beast and Pokemon UB Adhesive, also known as Poipole. Your son must have all the luck in the world to encounter one on his first day and befriend it, I’ve studied for years and this is only the fifth I come across.” She said while looking down and remembering what happened with the first Ultra Wormhole, having a dark look cross her face while Birch looked around and didn’t notice before she suddenly put a fake smile on her face. She needed to stay strong for her children, as they were what was left of her life, so she would devote everything in her power to protect them._

_“_ **_Mohn, I’ll do everything I can to protect them, just like you did to me that day_ ** _.”_

_“Lusamine, it seems the main professor himself wants to chat with you.” Birch remarked while pointing to a large screen with a video call icon on screen._

_“Well then, let’s talk with the big guy himself.” She said smugly while walking up and answering the call, and seeing Professor Oak with embers on his hair as he tried to put it out as Lusamine chuckled with mirth in her voice while Birch roared with laughter._

_“Sorry about the way I am presenting myself, Mrs. Lusamine, my grandson Gary and his friend Ash were hanging around and were playing with a Charmander and it got quite out of hand, so I am just freshening up.” He said with a sheepish laugh as Lusamine smiled back and said, “It’s quite alright Professor Oak, Samson sends his regards as well.”_

_“Hey teach, glad to see you are doing well!” Birch said while Oak smiled at his former student._

_“Ah Birch, it’s nice to see you again. How’s Sophie and Brendan?” He asked as he hadn’t caught up with his former student in some time._

_“Sophie and Brendan are both with Elm in Johto right now, I’m here with my other son…” Oak grew excited as Birch never told him he had a second child as Birch turned and said, “Naruto, come say hi to Professor Oak.” Birch exclaimed as Lusamine added, “You too, Lillie.”_

_Oak watched on the camera as two children that looked around the same age as Ash and Gary had walked up with a pokemon he had never seen before floating around them at high speeds. He had stars in his eyes as he looked at the new pokemon before asking Birch, “Birch, I thought Sophie had one son, not fraternal twins.” He said with a confused voice as Birch laughed and said, “Man Oak, I didn’t realize your smarts dimmed with your old age,” Naruto snickered in the background as he looked at Oak as Birch continued while putting his hand on Naruto’s hair, rubbing it softly, “This is Naruto, my son that I adopted four years ago. He’s been such an amazing child and he and Brendan are inseparable, same with Sophie. He also helps at my lab with handing out starter pokemon, healing, and research. I’m lucky to have met and nurtured him.” He finished with a soft tone as the look of pride on his face was undeniable as he was always proud to show Naruto and Brendan off to his peers while Naruto blushed and looked at Oak._

_“Hello Professor Oak, it’s nice to meet you! My name’s Naruto, and I will be the greatest trainer in the world!” He said with absolute conviction as Oak was suddenly reminded of Ash and Gary’s convictions and smiled._

_“Well Naruto, it is nice to meet you. You remind me of my grandson’s friend, always beaming with positivity and passion for pokemon.” He said as he looked at Lillie._

_“It is nice to meet you too, Lillie. You have a bright future ahead of you if Lusamine is guiding you.” Lillie slightly blushed as Lusamine nodded with a soft look as she stared lovingly at her daughter._

_“And it is nice to meet you too, Poipole.” He finally added as Poipole began to fly around the large screen in multiple rotations, admiring its new surroundings._

_“So Lusamine, what are some tests you performed on it so far?” He asked with an inquisitive tone as she responded with, “A test to see if it was healthy and what the typing of it was so far. We have done no battling tests, but it seems to be very friendly as it has befriended Naruto and Lillie very well and doesn’t seem to cause problems besides some mischief. It is a Poison-Dragon type pokemon and has the same ability all the ultra beasts we’ve discovered have had,_ **_Beast Boost_ ** _. It also seems that this Ultra Beast may be a unique one, as Poipole has the potential to evolve due to its bone structure and the way it seems incomplete, so it can become even stronger. We were just about to test its battling prowess with either Faba or Wicke, if you wish to watch the tests.” She concluded as Oak nodded with a grin as a new pokemon was going to be introduced to the world as Naruto spoke up._

_“Uhm, Mrs. Lusamine…” He said as every adult looked toward him as he was holding Poipole in his arms._

_“Yes Naruto, what do you need?” She asked politely as he waited for her to finish talking, so it was a plus in her book._

_“Do you think I can battle Poipole instead?” He said with an excited expression as he grinned and looked at her as she sent a curious look in return as Birch facepalmed and Oak looked confused while Lillie gasped._

_“Well Naruto, do you think you are strong enough to challenge it?” She said with a challenging tone as his eyes grew wide and his grin widened as she could see the fire in his eyes that burned bright._

_“_ **_Of Course_ ** _”_

* * *

_Naruto stood across from the Poipole on the other side of the battlefield as Gladion and Lillie sat with Lusamine, Wicke, Faba, and Birch as Oak watched from a camera set up as they all watched Poipole float around preparing for battle while Naruto stared at his Ultra Ball._

_“Well Birch, let’s see what your son is made of.” Oak said with a chuckle as Birch nodded._

_Gladion especially paid attention, as this was the first time he had ever watched a battler that was not from the Aether Foundation and from normal testing as battles in the courtyard were banned._

_“Well Genji, time to strike!” He said as he pitched the Ultra Ball up into the air and a blue light rained down on the battlefield as his Frogadier appeared in prime position for a battle, even if it was just getting accustomed to battling with its newfound speed and mobility._

_“Wow, he has a Frogadier at this age. I thought you would’ve given him a Hoenn starter and certainly not by now.” Wicke said as Faba snorted and mumbled about when he was a trainer it was never that safe._

_“It wasn’t my choice to give it to him, as he already befriended Frogadier when it was simply a Froakie four years ago, so they’ve been together since he joined my family. It just wasn’t my call.” He said with a sigh as Oak looked at the Frogadier with a curious look as Naruto and it had the same look as they both stared down the Poipole._

_“_ **_He reminds me of Minato, from his look to his grin._ ** _” Oak thought to himself as the battle commenced._

_“Genji, this is your first battle in your evolved form, so let’s start this test off. Use Smokescreen and attack with a Water Pulse!” Frogadier followed Naruto’s command as a cloud of smoke exited from its mouth as Poipole had to shut its eyes as Frogadier then created a sphere of water and threw it towards the Poipole, who had no time to react as it was hit by the sphere, but ultimately took little damage as its dragon typing came into play._

_Poipole’s spikes then glowed as white spikes of energy rose and shot towards Frogadier, as it then released a purple substance from its spikes as it shot it towards Frogadier as the screen showed some moves Poipole had used._

**_Moves Used: Pin Missile, Venoshock_ **

**_“_ ** _Alright Genji, use Smack Down to stop the Pin Missile, and then use Protect.” Frogadier picked up multiple rocks and threw them at the Pin Missile as they collided and a dust cloud settled as a green energy shield surrounded Frogadier as the Venoshock held no effect as Protect stopped the attack dead in its tracks._

_“Ramp it up, use Quick Attack to get in close, and then use Aerial Ace to knock it down.” Naruto said as Frogadier sped so fast it almost wasn’t seen clearly as its hands grew energy blades, then it jumped into mid-air and it tried to smack the Poipole to the ground but it got out of the way using a clone as it was pushed back and the clone was destroyed._

_Poipole’s claws then glowed red as it rushed towards Frogadier, ready to make a move when Naruto shouted, “Use Substitute just like it did, and then send it into the ground with Thief.”_

_Frogadier made a clone as it flipped backwards and let its clone be hit by Poipole as its Fell Stinger missed its mark, then its hands grew black as it threw a right hook that sent Poipole into the ground._

_“Quick Attack, nosedive.” The simple instruction was followed as Frogadier was surrounded by white speed marks as it nosedived into the Poipole with minimal difficulty._

_“Now, Double Team and prepare a Water Pulse, then wait until it gets up and send the attack into the ground.”_

_Multiple Frogadier surrounded the Poipole as it strained itself to get up as it saw the multiple Frogadier and created purple energy spikes on its head as it shot it into the ground._

_“Toxic Spikes?! Genji, use Bounce to get away and let the Water Pulse rip.”_

_“_ **_Froga-DIER_ ** _” It jumped high into the air and spun around to gather momentum along with all of its clones as they all launched the Water Pulses, but only one connected with the floor as one wave of water rushed out of the explosion and hit Poipole dead on, knocking it off guard as it looked up to see Frogadier shadowed in the air, preparing to end it as Naruto’s voice rang out for all to hear._

_“Genji, end it. Use Acrobatics!” Frogadier was surrounded by a blue aura as it side-stepped in mid air and punched the Poipole into the ground, knocking it clean out as Frogadier landed with grace and stood up, looking unaffected by the battle._

_Birch grinned with pride as Lusamine smirked to herself as Faba and Wicke both looked impressed. Lillie wowed a little at the display of power between Naruto and Frogadier. Gladion sat down with his eyes closed, wondering about the battle and how strong the two of them were._

_Oak however just sat there, thinking about how the battle went and how Naruto’s battling was so similar to Delia’s husband, how he relied on power but also trickery and finesse and waited for the perfect time to use its moves to maximize the full effect. He saw how Frogadier trusted Naruto explicitly and never doubted him to waste a single move, and now they took out an Ultra Beast by themselves, even if it was an unevolved one they still took one down._

_“Well done, my boy!” Birch exclaimed while pumping his fist in the air as Naruto smiled at him before walking towards Poipole and fishing something out of his pocket. He picked out a Hyper Potion and crouched down so the Poipole could see him._

_“Sorry for knocking you out like that, I can heal you if you want.”_

_“_ **_Poi-poi…_ ** _” It said weakly as it braced itself for more hurt as Naruto sprayed the potion on its bruises and it healed up in no time, looking as good as new. Poipole looked at itself and cheered, then flew around Naruto and Frogadier as it played with them while the adults walked up._

_Birch ran up and noogied his son saying, “My son is getting stronger every day, can’t believe he beat an Ultra Beast.”_

_“Even if it was its unevolved form, but you’ve done well Naruto, we got valuable data from that fight about the Poipole, so you did your job well.” Lusamine said with a smirk as she looked up and down the list of moves Poipole had used and how its stats had shown up with its reliance on poison moves and status effects, trying to outmaneuver the Frogadier._

_Naruto got up with Poipole in his arms as he walked up to the group and grinned while also cautiously holding Poipole close to him making sure he isn’t poisoned by its spikes._

_“It was fun, Genji hasn’t had a battle ever since it evolved and Poipole was the best way for him to get comfortable. Thanks for the opportunity.” he said as Frogadier was busy stretching._

_“I have to say, it was quite interesting looking at Frogadier’s move set and seeing how you adapted to the attacks Poipole used and how it used them, as the Bounce to dodge the Toxic Spikes had me very enticed.” Oak said while on screen as Naruto smiled at the praise._

_“What a fabulous battle, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the performance.” Faba said in a dramatic tone as Wicke dangerously grinned at him and he flinched heavily. Then he gave her 1,000 PokeDollars as a sign of their bet._

_“Perhaps…” Everyone looked towards Lusamine as she thought out loud. “Perhaps, you could help me with another thing.” She said with a knowing smirk as the rest looked confused._

_(_ **End Of Flashback** **_)_ **

* * *

“ **Poi-Poi** ” It said as it flew around Naruto as it sat on his yellow hair, not willing to step away from its future trainer.

After that day at the Aether Foundation, it was decided that Lusamine would study Poipole for two years on and off while Naruto trained it to become stronger and when it was time for Naruto to start a journey, it could evolve and then become even stronger. Lusamine kept in touch as she owed the Poipole even more gratitude, as it saved her from a Nihilego’s mind control abilities as her Silvally had defeated the Ultra Beast. She gave the Silvally to Gladion when he left on his journey as he wanted it since it was a Type: Null and Lillie stayed with her at Aether, waiting for the journey to arrive.

“Alright Dad, I’m ready to go.” He said with a full-blown smile as Birch walked up and rested his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Naruto, normally this would be the time where I would give you the spiel about going on a journey, but you have worked with me and lived with me for so long that it just seems redundant at this point. Just know that I am always here for encouragement and wisdom, and that you will always be my son. Sophie and I both share that sentiment. When you told us about your previous family, we took you under our roof and raised you to become the man you are now, so take our teachings and show those people who doubted you and hated you what for. With Genji and Olympus by your side right now, and your family continually increasing as you befriend more pokemon…” Birch was now openly shedding tears as tears brimmed on the side of Naruto’s eyes as he tried to contain himself. 

“ **You will become great Naruto, I have no doubts you will reach the top. Go on your journey and know that you are free from them, and your life now is up for you to decide, not them. If you ever decide to visit them again, make sure you let them know what you are, a man, a man that will live his life without being chained down.** ”

Naruto shut his eyes as he tried to control the tears that were welling up inside up, as he tightened his fists as he hugged his father, the father that took care of him and loved him with all of his heart, who took in his burden and shielded him. The dam broke as tears glided down Naruto’s cheek as underneath his bandages on his right arm, three runes glowed bright green, red, and blue as his emotions overflowed him. 

Birch and Naruto then looked at each other, one with tears of pride and a bright smile as the other held a smile and tears of happiness as they hugged each other and Naruto walked out, Genji on his left and Olympus on his right as he walked out of the door and the sun guided his path, tears continuing to flow down his face as he went home and said goodbye to his mother for now, promising to visit every 2 months as he walked out of Littleroot Town, his home of 9 years. The place where his family chose him and loved him. The place where he and Brendan started from. 

**The Place of His Liberation**

He walked past all the citizens of the town, who enjoyed his pranks and his joyful nature as they all wished him good luck on his journey. At long last, he walked towards the new route. His first steps onto the new route were marked by a powerful gust of wind, knocking leaves off of trees as he stood his ground with Genji at his side and Olympus in his arms.

He carried on forward, not even caring about the winds as in the background, a sign glistened in the sunlight.

“ **_Welcome to Littleroot Town, where Trainers begin the start of their new lives._ **”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so a little background of Naruto's character in this story. He's not going to be perfect, as no one as perfect. He still has his unpredictable nature as Naruto could never be without it, but he doesn't have the craving for attention that he did in the anime. Since he also grew up with a Pokémon Professor, he is a lot more rational and smarter and doesn't make easy mistakes. He uses his unpredictability in his battling style, using moves like Substitute and Double Team a lot more that also lines up with his Shadow Clones. He is a lot more rational, calm, and healthy due to the environment he lived in with Birch, Brendan and Sophie. 
> 
> Now for Lusamine, she's not going to be evil, at least I don't plan for her to be. My Lusamine is dedicated to her children and them alone as Mohn is gone (For now), and as far as she is concerned he is dead, so she puts all of her worth on her children, as a normal parent should if their spouse is dead. She sometimes got too overbearing, but I feel a mother would always be overbearing with their children, especially if the father is no longer there. The Nihilego event still happens, but she doesn't go batshit crazy because of Poipole and its Ultra Beast affect countering the Mind Attack Nihilego does to her and her having a Silvally to take down Rouge Ultra Beasts. I have something planned for her character, but just know it won't be something evil, and that is way far off in the timeline as Naruto has to complete Hoenn and his first region and maybe a second region if I decide to go that route. Gladion is going to still be reserved, but much more prone to kindness, and Lillie will not be as timid and will be way more easy to get to know. Ash is still in this, as I do have a plan for when Naruto and Ash meet. Just know you will be getting hints on where Ash is on his journey, but I will be focusing on Naruto's.
> 
> Lastly, you will see how Jiraiya is in my character's list, just know he is going to be playing a very interesting role, as I know doubt want him to get to know Naruto and maybe open the possibility to get him to confront his past and become more clear-minded. Hiruzen guided him, so it could be a real nice dialouge between Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and the Naruto i've written with how his life is.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maple Family will always hold a special place in Naruto's heart. May gives him a surprise that even he wasn't expecting. He trains with his Pokemon and makes sure that he keeps in top shape. The Land, Sea, and Sky show themselves as a new teammate comes, and a figure of Naruto's past arrives.

**Resilient Until The End**

“ _Why don’t you leave and never return?_ ”

He shook slightly and walked alone, leaving Oldale Town behind as he walked forward.

“ _Why did you bring that fucking thing here, huh? WHY?_ ”

He rubbed his bandaged arm, flinching slightly at the thought of it.

“ _You did this, you killed my father, you killed my mother._ ”

The voices that floated around him, that told him to kill himself, that told him to crawl under the magma and burn in agony, to jump off the highest mountains and plunge into the deep sea, drowning in his own sorrow, his lungs collapsing and bones decaying until there was nothing left but his bright soul.

“ _Naruto, I’m sorry, but you will have to be the scapegoat, we can’t protect you._ ”

He tightened his fists as he released a dreadful sigh, Genji and Olympus both looked on in worry as the tension increased.

“ _Sensei and Kushina-nii don’t love you, you brought it here, you caused the destruction of our home. Remember it, for it will never leave you._ ”

He grit his teeth as the sun’s light washed over him as he stared at the clear sky; the sun shining his path as he looked past his old life.

“ _Make sure you become champion, Naruto. I won’t expect anything less than to see my grandchild become the best in the world._ ”

“ **Konoha City, a city I will always hate with a passion, but a city that taught me a valuable lesson.** ” 

Naruto and his Pokemon walked to Petalburg City, forgetting the early tension as if it didn’t exist.

“ **It taught me how to liberate myself from people that didn’t care for me, people that were two-faced and sly, people that will never have a place in my heart again.** ”

His team walked into Petalburg after spending a couple days in Oldale Town and admiring the beautiful scenery Route 103 and 102, running towards the gym as they both beckoned him to follow as he started running after them.

“ **It taught me how to feel emotions again.** ”

* * *

Norman Maple, the gym leader of Petalburg City waited at the door as he basked in the sun's warmth and looked around at his city, the one he would defend with his life. The city where he and his wife, as well as his two children, both lived. He remembered how that green-haired boy, Wally, just left on his journey after learning how to catch his first pokemon two weeks ago from Birch’s son, Brendan. His wife, his daughter May, and his son Max all slept as they never woke up during this time, so he had time to admire his surroundings as he always did in the morning. He would travel to Petalburg Forest and sit in the trees, watch the ocean currents go as the sound of the waves crashing against the beach soothed his mind.

He looked to the entrance of his city from Route 102 and saw two pokemon enter along with a trainer who he knew quite well. He got up and smiled, then released his Vigoroth as he said with a smile, “Vigoroth, wake up the kid and his Frogadier. Use Slash.”

Vigoroth jumped up and its claws glowed white as it jumped towards the Frogadier, and as it prepared to slash, Norman heard a command and his Vigoroth was sent back with an Aerial Ace. Norman smirked and went to stand next to his Vigoroth as Naruto stood next to his Frogadier and Poipole, both smirking at each other.

“Wow Naruto, you normally don’t react that fast to Vigoroth’s attacks, but then again, it’s been a year since I challenged you that directly.” Norman said with a jibe at Naruto, who just rubbed his hair and said, “Trust me, I won’t be caught off guard like before. I have to be the greatest, and I can’t continue to lose to you and Vigoroth like that. Plus, last time I checked, me and Genji beat you two.” He said with a smirk as Genji had its own smirk at the Vigoroth, who just slashed its claws together to prepare for a rematch.

“Well, you have gotten a lot stronger as the years went by. Hopefully when you come back for the 5th badge, you will take a higher gym challenge than the normal 5th.” Norman said as Naruto nodded. Norman was the Gym Leader for the 5th Badge in Hoenn, but his full team was on the level of Wallace, the Gym Leader of Sootopolis City.

“Trust me, when I get back here. I’ll be able to do your full challenge, and I will prove to you that I surpassed you, just like you taught me to.” Naruto said as he and Norman both shook hands as Norman asked, “Would you like to come inside? I’m sure May and Max will be happy to see their ‘older brother’ again.” Naruto rolled his eyes and nodded as Norman slapped his back and they both laughed.

* * *

( **Flashback: 9 years ago** )

_Naruto and Brendan both played outside of the house with Froakie as Sophie watched them closely, making sure they weren’t hurt._

_“Genji, use_ **_Bubble_ ** _, hit Brendan’s face with it!” Froakie sent weak bubbles at Brendan as he tried to run away from the bubbles as they eventually hit him and drenched his face in water._

_“No, dang it. I thought I could outrun them.” A little boy with brown hair, silver eyes, and fleece hat on his head said while on the floor before getting back up and trying to catch Naruto._

_“Come here Naruto, you gotta face the music!” Brendan said as he chased Naruto down, before he was grabbed by Sophie, a woman with brown hair, black eyes, and purple summer dress on as she lifted both Naruto and Brendan up with one hand._

_“No fighting you two, don’t you remember Dad is taking you two somewhere and you can’t be dirty.”_

_Both boys nodded and sat back down as Genji sat with them and they began messing around with the frubbles that were on Genji’s neck. Sophie chuckled at the two innocent boys before hearing steps and seeing her husband walk back while rubbing his head._

_“Damn, field work was hard today. Nearly had an aneurysm because of that shit.” Birch whispered as Sophie heard him and went up to him, kissing him full on the lips as he returned the kiss in kind before Naruto and Brendan saw their dad had returned._

_“Dad, let go of mom, right now!” Brendan exclaimed as Naruto said nothing, as he saw people do this all the time in Konoha’s Red-Light District, as well as his former parents and even Hiruzen and his wife, Biwako._

_“Oh, come on, Brendan, I’ve had a long day. Besides, Naruto doesn’t seem to mind.” Birch said as Sophie smiled as Brendan turned to Naruto, who only shrugged and laughed at Brendan’s red face._

_“Owen, not in front of the kids. You don’t need to scar them with the Pidgey and the Combee yet, wait until they are older.” Sophie said as Birch sighed and unhanded his wife, before she latched onto him for a second and said, “Maybe when you bring them to the place you were going to bring them and come back, I’ll let you have your fun.”_

_Birch immediately got his motivation right then and there as he hugged his two sons saying, “Well kids, how was your day so far?”_

_Both Naruto and Brendan started spouting their own versions of the day as Birch couldn’t keep up and was eventually forced to stop them before they made him even more tired._

_“Well boys, you know how today I’m bringing you somewhere?” Both boys nodded as Genji hopped on Naruto’s shoulder._

_“Well, we are going to Petalburg City, that way you can meet a family friend as well as make some new friends!” Both boys cheered at the thought of meeting a gym leader, as they both knew the Hoenn map and figured out that Petalburg City contained a gym._

_“Will we meet the gym leader dad? Is that who we are going to meet?” Brendan asked as Naruto emphatically nodded, to which Birch just smirked and nodded as both boys hugged their father._

_“Thanks dad, you’re the best.” Birch didn’t show it, but he felt some sort of joy being called dad by Naruto, as he had just gotten used to the fact they had adopted him from his horrible living environment. It took a couple of months for Naruto to tell him, and he grew infuriated with the citizens of Konoha City, but he couldn’t do anything about it as they were still rebuilding the region, but he was happy Naruto got away from that toxicity._

_“Brendan, let’s go get the Test Pokedex ready, that way we can read some pokemon’s stats!” Brendan and Naruto along with Froakie ran into the house as Birch sat down on the porch and Sophie sat next to him._

_“Naruto was really a blessing to us, wasn’t he?” Sophie asked as Birch nodded with a smile and grasped his wife’s soft hand, entwining his fingers with her as he said, “I’m happy he didn’t turn out to be truly depressed or broken. Naruto is resilient, and his resilience allowed him to grow strong enough to break out of his ‘prison,’ so I’m grateful. Naruto is our little maelstrom, and I won’t let anyone take him away from us.” Birch looked towards his wife and hugged her softly, showing affection as he said, “Thank you for bringing Brendan into our world, and staying by my side as we both take care of our children.”_

_Sophie held back tears as she hugged Birch back, “Oh Owen, you are the love of my life of course I’m happy to be with you and take care of these two, they are our pride and joy and I know both are going to be great. We brought two future champions into this world, now we have to take responsibility.” Sophie said with a passionate tone as Birch nodded, looking at Brendan and Naruto as they packed their bags. He saw the sun shine on them as he could picture the two in the future, Brendan at the top of Hoenn and Naruto right beside him, both fighting as they made it to the Hall Of Fame._

_“We’re ready, dad!” Both exclaimed as Birch said, “Alright you two, we’ll get going in a little. Wait at the sign and I’ll be there with you.” The boys nodded, and both ran as Birch got up and kissed Sophie again. “I’ll be back, and then we can have our fun.” He bit her neck as she shook with pleasure and he walked away._

_“I swear, that man always knows how to hit my sweet spots.” Sophie said with a dreamy tone as she watched her two children and her husband walk out of their town as she began to prepare for Birch’s arrival._

_The three arrived at Petalburg City a couple hours later, after driving a car to the city and parking it in front of the gym and house next to it. Birch walked up and knocked on the house door, and it swung open after a couple seconds to see a brown-haired girl open it, the same age as Naruto and Brendan._

_“Mom, there are three people at the door.” The girl said in a high-pitched voice as a female voice said, “Coming May, make sure they wipe their feet first.”_

_Birch, Naruto and Brendan wiped his feet as a woman with light-brown hair and pink apron walked up and had a look of recognition on her face._

_“Ah Birch, I heard you were coming, but I didn’t know it would be this early.” She then looked and saw Naruto and Brendan and smiled at the two, “And I see you finally decided to bring the children with you. I know the one with the hat is Brendan, but who is the one with golden hair?” The woman asked as Naruto looked a bit miffed._

_“Sorry for coming in such a short notice Caroline, but this boy,” Birch ruffled Naruto’s hair, “is Naruto, my second son. Sophie and I adopted him a couple months ago, and it feels as if he was simply born to us, because he fits us so well. And you already know of Brendan.” Naruto said, “Nice to meet you, Ms. Caroline. Dad has wanted to bring us here for a long time.” “Yeah, the old man always wants us to be clean for somewhere else, when he can’t even keep himself clean!” Naruto and May both giggled as Birch grunted and said, “Alright Caroline, I have to go back to Littleroot, Sophie is waiting for me. Please take care of them for the day.” Birch had a grin on his face and walked off as Caroline raised an eyebrow at his upbeat attitude until she connected the dots and said to herself, “So, you’re just going to drop your children on us so you can have some fun.”_

_She then turned to May and said, “May, would you show them around the city? I hope you don’t run away from it, as your dad should be back soon.” May cheered as she grabbed Brendan and Naruto and ran out of the house as she continued cooking the meal._

_“So this is the PokeCenter, and over there is the PokeMart, and over there is the lake, and over there…” “WE GET IT!” Brendan interrupted May as she nearly cried and Naruto smacked him upside the head. “That’s not how you’re supposed to act Brendan, we are supposed to be polite.” Naruto helped May calm down as they both gave Brendan a stink eye, causing him to shrink in fear._

_“Come to the gym, dad is there!” May brought them over there as the two couldn’t talk due to the speed they were going at._

_“Hi Dad!” May said as Norman exited the gym with a large smile on his face as he held his daughter up in the air and twirled her around._

_“Hello, my little snowball. Why are you here though?” May pointed to Naruto and Brendan, who had their mouths wide open as they high-fived each other._

_“IT’S THE GYM LEADER, IT’S THE GYM LEADER!” Norman chuckled at the two and asked, “Hey kids, who brought you to our city?”_

_“It was our dad, Professor Birch!” Both kids exclaimed as Norman responded with, “Ah I see, well nice to meet you two. I’m Norman Maple, and I’m the Gym Leader of Petalburg City.”_

( **Flashback End)**

* * *

Naruto walked inside the house, looking around and reliving the memories of when he came to this house all the time in the past and reminisced, as he then received a tight hug around his waist and saw Max Maple hugging him.

“Big bro, you’re here! You’re finally a trainer!” Naruto started rubbing Max’s hair with brotherly affection as he chuckled, “Hey Max, it’s nice to see you’re growing up well. You’re going to sprout up like a weed soon.” Max’s eyes gleamed with pride as he saw Frogadier and Poipole and rushed them.

“Wow! Genji looks even stronger than last time when you beat Dad’s Vigoroth.” Max then looked at Poipole and his eyes sparkled even more than before, “AND YOU HAVE A POIPOLE! THEY ARE ONE OF THE RAREST POKEMON OUT THERE! HOW DID YOU GET IT?!” Olympus snickered and flew around Max as Genji smirked at the praise he received as Naruto put his hand on the back of hand as Norman chuckled at his dismay.

“Olympus was given to me by a Professor in Alola, and it’s with me for my journey as I was the first one it connected with back in Alola when it first came to our dimension from Ultra Space.” Naruto said as Max fired off questions at speeds that seemed impossible while steps were coming down and yelled, “MAX, COULD YOU PLEASE BE QUIET. I AM TRYING TO HAVE MY BEAUTY…” Naruto looked with a smile at May, who seemed quite frazzled by his appearance as she was still in her pajamas and wasn’t ready for her day. She looked to be about 5’5 with light brown hair and brown eyes as she stared at Naruto, who threw up the peace sign and grinned, “sleep…”

“What’s up May, glad I can see you before I head off.” May’s eyes looked up and down Naruto’s figure as she smiled widely and shook the dirty thoughts out of her system as Norman smirked and eyed his daughter, who only glared at him as she walked up and hugged Naruto tightly by his head as she held on to him, pushing her face into his chest and refusing to let go. Naruto slightly smiled and hugged her back with one arm, rubbing her back as she nearly jumped onto him before she let go and whispered, “It’s nice to see you, Naruto.” Max was confused at her loud sister’s personality change as Norman grinned and laughed out loud at how his daughter was showing a completely different side of her.

“You started your journey?” She asked as he responded with, “Yeah, it was about time. I don’t want to leave Brendan on his own in the wild, he’ll start a war with his Grovyle alone.” Norman agreed as he knew Brendan was the type of person to rush ahead, but Brendan ended up helping Wally with catching his first pokemon on his behalf.

“Man, now I want to go on a journey. They should change the age back to 10.” Max said with a pout as Norman shook his head at his son’s innocence to the world as Naruto said, “Trust me Max, I know from experience that the world won’t be so nice to you, so you have to mature before you leave on a journey.” Norman nodded at the wise words said by the 15-year-old, as May contemplated what he said.

“Then why don’t you take me with you, that way you can protect me while I help you.” Max said with puppy-dog eyes as Naruto shook his head and said, “As much as I would love to little bro, I just can’t. This journey is for me and finding peace with myself and my past, but I will be sure to give you free tickets to the Ever Grande City Tourney when it comes, as me and Brendan are both aiming for it. I’ll also record all of my gym battles and send it to you, sound good?” Naruto said as Max cheered and he sighed with relief as he looked at May and asked, “What about you May, you ready for your journey yet?”

May looked down in thought and answered, “Not yet, I think I’m going to wait for a few months before starting, since I don’t know what I really want to do yet.”

Naruto nodded in acceptance and said, “I suggested Pokemon Contests and Showcases before, so look up footage of them and see if they catch your interests.” May nodded as she went upstairs to get ready for the day, giving a final hug to Naruto as she hugged him tightly and refused to let go as he was caught off guard by the hug. She wrapped her legs around his waist and stayed there for a couple of seconds, connecting her lips with his cheek before running up the stairs with a huge blush on her face as Max looked confused and Norman shook his head at what his daughter had pulled while Naruto looked a bit taken aback if his face was saying anything. He snapped back into reality and smiled at the stairs as Max hugged him and he promised to get him tickets, before going outside with Norman and standing at the door.

“Remember Naruto, if you need any advice, I’m here. As your mentor and an uncle, you can come to me for help.” He said as they both shook hands as Olympus floated beside him while Genji sat next to him.

“Thanks Uncle Norman, I’ll be sure to come to you for any issues. And I’ll be sure to come back and challenge you, so I can finally prove myself.” They both stared at each other as Genji and Olympus stood at his side, loyal and unwavering as Norman’s presence showed itself.

“Good, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Get stronger, so we can see if the student will surpass his master.” Naruto’s passion then showed as his eyes glowed light blue, and his arm glowed lime green underneath the bandages and turned around as Norman yelled out, “And make sure to take care of May when she’s older.”

Naruto rolled his eyes and walked off with a smile, leaving the Maple House behind as he and his pokemon ran toward the exit of the city.

**The Skies Were Free**

* * *

Nighttime rolled around as Naruto sat by the lake of Petalburg, watching Genji float around in the water and keeping Olympus beside him as he scanned it with the Pokedex.

**Poipole, Poison Pin Pokemon.**

**Ability: Beast Boost**

**Type: Poison/Dragon**

**Entry: This Ultra Beast is well enough liked to be chosen as a first partner in its own world**

**Moves: Venoshock, Fell Stinger, Facade, Pin Missile, Substitute, Toxic Spikes, Sludge Wave, Endure, Uproar**

Naruto then pointed the Pokedex at Genji, and its data came on the screen.

**Frogadier, Bubble Frog Pokemon**

**Ability: Torrent**

**Gender: Male**

**Type: Water**

**Entry: Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of over 2,000 feet in a minute’s time.**

**Moves: Quick Attack, Smack Down, Substitute, Double Team, Bounce, Water Pulse, Aerial Ace, Smokescreen, Return, Acrobatics, Thief, Rest, Protect, Scald, Bubble**

Naruto nodded at his team’s moves and knew they could be improved upon. He got up and told his team, “Alright you two, we need to get way stronger. Genji, you will start working on your combination moves that we’ve been trying to perfect, as well as trying to get **U-Turn** and **Low Kick** active. Olympus, I want you to work on **Iron Tail** , because the next gym is a Rock Type gym and I want to use you for the gym. I’ll gather a couple rocks so you can start slamming them with your tail, since I know you were training back at Aether. I also want you to teach Genji how to use Bug energy in his attack so he can master **U-Turn**.”

Both pokemon cheered and Genji began working on the combination between **Thief** and **Aerial Ace** , as well as **Substitute** and **Double Team** . Olympus started smashing its tail against many rocks as Naruto took off his shirt and began his workout, not willing to leave his pokemon to do all the work. He did pull-ups on a tree next to the lake as Genji smacked the tree next to him with a black and silver hand as **Aerial Ace** and **Thief** mixed with minimal difficulty as the tree split in half and fell apart as Olympus dragged rocks with its tail, strengthening it.

“ **_Froga-Frogadier_ ** ” “ **_Poi-Poipole_ ** ” Poipole released a Pin Missile as Frogadier got a feel of the energy and tried to use a **U-Turn** , but failed as it continued to try, not letting up as Naruto started to do his push-ups and planking.

“ _I will get stronger, Grandpa Hiruzen, Uncle Norman! Just you wait!_ ” He thought to himself as both of his Pokemon continued to work hard, not willing to give in until they got some mastery of their respective moves. Olympus began to slam its tail against rocks of various sizes, and Genji slammed its leg against the tree he chopped with the **Thief-Aerial Ace** Combo, refusing to give in. A couple hours later of nonstop training, it was midnight and his team was still going at it as he finished his workout.

“ **_Froga-DIER_ **” Genji kicked the log back a couple feet as Olympus smashed some of the rocks with its tail.

“ **_POI_ **” Both pokemon felt pride as Naruto panted and grinned with satisfaction.

“Great job, you two. We can rest for tonight, tomorrow we go into Petalburg Forest and we make our way to the first gym.” Genji laid in the grass as Olympus snickered and pushed Naruto into the lake, getting him wet as Geni laughed and they all laid in the grass, looking up at the moon.

“You know, you two?” Both pokemon looked at him as his blue eyes shined in the moonlight, the full moon illuminating their area as the lake sparkled like crystals.

“I’m honestly so glad that you two are my pokemon, you two are family. My grandfather told me before I left Kaiho that both people and Pokemon should be considered family, and that’s what I see you two as.” 

“ **_Poi_ ** ” “ **_Fro_ **” Both pokemon nodded as Naruto closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

“Good night, you two.” The pokemon went inside their respective pokeballs to go to sleep as Naruto slept underneath the shade of his tree, the moon watching over him and the entire world.

**Shine Upon Your Freedom**

* * *

_Magma, all that was shown was magma. Naruto stood at the edge of a volcano, and couldn’t open his mouth. He saw the volcano and then looked behind him, and saw a tidal wave rushing toward the volcano._

_He began to scream, but couldn’t move a muscle as his voice couldn’t leave his mouth, due to it being locked by air. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t do anything._

_The volcano erupted, magma shooting into the sky as Naruto floated in mid-air, watching the magma clash against the tidal wave, creating a huge pillar of smoke from the volcano as the magma began to cool and the water was pushed away and rose. He felt strong winds beside him, and watched as a massive tornado sucked up water and magma and split it across the sky, spreading both out equally. Naruto’s arm burned with pain as three runes were etched into his skin, one red, one blue, one green._

_He watched in horror as the volcano erupted again, a bigger tidal wave began to form as the tornado in the middle got even more violent as the three forces of nature collided against each other, the tornado overpowering both and splitting the magma and water apart. The tornado swallowed him up as he watched the magma and water rush each other again, this time no tornado to stop the assault as the sea rose and land grew, two silhouettes of large pokemon being revealed to him as they both roared and sent attacks at each other, intent to kill laced in the attacks as they collided._

_Naruto saw the Hoenn Region in the distance, and witnessed a Tidal Wave being sent to his town, flooding everyone away, screams and echoes protruding from the town as they were eventually drowned out by the sea. The two pokemon roared again, his arm burning even more as his skin peeled off of his arm, the red rune burning his arm away as magma came out of the pores and surrounded it. Naruto was shot forward to the silhouette in the volcano, and they both stared at each other, one with absolute fear and the other with undivided anger. The silhouette prepared an attack, and Naruto recognized it as a Hyper Beam. It shot the attack and Naruto was directly hit by the powerful beam, being disintegrated by the powerful attack as a third pokemon roared from the sky, a three-way deadlock ensuing as all three transformed into powerful forms, sending their signature attacks at one another._

**Land, Sea, and Sky.**

* * *

Water was shot on his head as a bubble popped above him and drenched him to wake up. He sat up immediately and looked up to see his two pokemon worried about him. He then looked back down and still saw his arms shaking from his dream, and his bandages had been removed during the night as pure skin glistened during the sunrise.

“ **_Poi-Poi, Poipole_ **!” Olympus had floated around him as Genji looked concerned, so he put on a smile and sat up, making sure he stopped shaking and stood up, washing his face in the lake and rubbing his eyes.

“Sorry you two, it was just a bad sleep. I’m fine, promise.” He sent a smile as he sat against the tree and held his forehead and sighed in relief.

“ _Thankfully, it was just a dream_.” He thought to himself subtly as Genji had his doubts, but ultimately accepted it and got up. Olympus floated and dumped its head in the river, shaking its head around as it cleaned itself.

“Alright you two, let’s go get some food from the Pokemon Center, and we’ll be on our way.” Both pokemon hesitantly nodded as they were worried for their trainer, but knew he wouldn’t lie to them and they made their way to the Pokemon Center, both getting inside of its Pokeball as Naruto went up to Nurse Joy.

“Hello young man, how may I help you today?” “ **_Chansey_ **”

“Hey Nurse Joy, may you please heal my pokemon?” Naruto took the Ultra Ball and Beast Ball out subtly and put it on the tray that the Chansey held out as Nurse Joy said, “They will be ready quite soon. You can wait for a bit and go sit down.” She smiled as Naruto smiled back and went to the food court, ordering some pokemon food and a cup of ramen for himself and ate for a bit, taking in the succulent juices of the ramen and moaned a bit in ecstasy as no one was in the lobby to tell him off, as they were sleeping or leaving the center.

“Excuse me, Naruto sir, your pokemon are ready.” Nurse Joy called out as Naruto stood up and threw the Ramen Cup away, putting more into his backpack as he took the two balls from Nurse Joy and thanked her.

“Remember, you are always welcome at our Pokemon Center, come again.” Naruto grinned and walked out, leaving towards the exit of Petalburg as he walked past a house that a green-haired man walked into, talking on the phone with a boy that just arrived in Verdanturf Town and spending time with his new Ralts.

“Alright, Genji do you want to stay outside your pokeball when we get into the first, or do you want to rest a bit more from last night?” Genji shrugged as it yawned and Naruto took that as a yes, retracting it back into its pokeball. Poipole floated next to him as he reapplied his bandages and walked toward the beach, letting Olympus play around with the Wingull, Pelliper, Carvanha and Tentacool as he looked at the sun rising above the water, islands gleaming in the distance as luscious green grass moved with the wind, waves calmly crashing against the sand as Olympus enjoyed its time outside the Beast Ball.

“Olympus, come here.” Naruto called out to it as Olympus came and sat on his shoulder, watching the sunrise with him as they both enjoyed it.

“Olympus, this will be your first time truly exploring Hoenn, and I want you to savor your first journey with me, and it definitely won’t be the last, believe it!” Naruto said as it cheered out and sent a **Pin Missile** into the ocean out of excitement.

“I can’t wait to be the best Olympus, with you and Genji by my side.”

Naruto looked to the right, towards Petalburg Forest.

“But first, we need to make it past the trials that await us. First, the Gym Leaders, then the Ever Grande Tourney, and finally, the world.” Naruto’s eyes glowed with excitement as he grinned, “We will not give up, because we will never let our future friends and family down!”

Olympus flew towards the forest, Naruto following it as he sprinted in, not afraid of what’s coming as a green and white bird watched him in the distance.

Nincada scurried around the dense trees of the entrance to the forest, Poochyena and Hoenn Zigzagoon roaming the grassy lands of Route 104, buzzing sounds were released from the entrance as Naruto stood there unfazed, it was not the time to be afraid.

“HEY YOU!” Naruto turned around and saw a blonde-haired boy with a blue suit looking at him.

“Oh, hello there. Do you need anything?” Naruto asked politely, although he was getting the impression of a guy with a stick-up-his-ass as the boy scoffed at him and took out a **Great Ball**.

“Yeah, you commoner, lose to me so I can look good.” Naruto raised an eyebrow at the arrogance of the teen as he said, “Come out and show this commoner what for, Zigzagoon.” The Zigzagoon that came out had a pompous attitude, as it took one look at Naruto and scoffed, just like the boy. Naruto sweat-dropped at the pokemon and boy along with Poipole, “Okay, Olympus, go for it.” Olympus floated forward as the boy said, “Hey, how much money for that pokemon. I know you can’t resist.” He brought out a wad of PokeDollars as Naruto had a tick mark on his forehead and gave the boy the stink-eye.

“I’m sorry, but none of my friends are for sale. You should remember that Pokemon are not just things you can buy.”

“That’s bullshit, I paid a lot for this Pokemon, and spent money on it to strengthen it. Let me show you now, Zigzagoon, use Tackle and destroy this plebeian.” Zigzagoon ran straight at Olympus, ready to tear it apart.

“Olympus, let’s use this as a test run. Try seeing if Iron Tail is working.” Olympus went, and its tail glowed slightly, and sent the Zigzagoon back into the ground.

“Damn, so it’s still not working properly.” Naruto said to himself as the Zigzagoon was immediately knocked out and the boy looked dumbfounded.

“THERE’S NO WAY A COMMONER JUST BEAT ME. MY MOTHER AND FATHER SPENT THOUSANDS ON THAT POKEMON!” Naruto walked away and thought with a confused look, “ _Why would you spend thousands of dollars on a Pokemon you can find on most routes in Hoenn_?”

“Hey, come back here!” Naruto turned around with a glare as he yelled, “The fuck do you want, snob?!” The boy flinched heavily as he lost all of toughness and started to run away crying. On the way, he dropped a Pokeball from his pockets, screaming about how someone was bullying him and that his parents were going to hear about this as Naruto couldn’t care less. He did however walk up to the PokeBall and saw if there was a Pokemon in it, which there wasn’t. It was a black Pokeball with gold and red stripes and a gold button, a **Luxury Ball**. 

“I’ll take this as compensation for a waste of my time.” Naruto said with a chuckle as Poipole snickered along with him.

“I realize Olympus…” Olympus looked at him as Naruto said while scratching his head, “We didn’t even get his name. He challenged us and ran away and didn’t even tell us.” 

“ **_Poi-Poi_ **!” It shook its head and laughed at the trainer’s dismay as they both walked into the entrance of the forest.

Naruto walked into the dark forest, barely being able to see as Olympus was looking around for some Pokemon to battle.

“Alright Olympus, here is where you can do some Iron Tail training. You won’t be able to be poisoned by the many Poison types in here, and you can fight some of them off. We will be in here for about 3 days just training and getting your move mastered. Sounds good?” Olympus nodded and began to get to work on hitting the multiple trees of the area, sometimes being attacked by Wurmple and Nincada, but defeating them quite easily. Naruto began training on his own by Olympus, as he needed to stay in top shape for his future.

“Genji, come out and help me.” Naruto released Genji, who yawned and barely opened his eyes and saw Naruto surrounded by trees.

“Genji, I want you to use Smack Down and throw the rocks at me. I want to improve my dodge timing as well as your accuracy with the move.” 

“ **_Fro-Frogadier_ **” He said with a worried tone as he didn’t want to hurt his friend. Naruto saw the conflicted look on Genji’s face and assured he was going to be alright.

“Don’t worry Genji, we did this all the time with Bubble. I know I can dodge this. Plus, this is also going to be good training for you, as I want you to be better accustomed with Rock Moves before we work on Rock Slide later on.” Genji nodded as he saw the logic behind it and began to pick up medium-size stones and hurl them at Naruto, who tried his damndest to stay out of harm’s way. He ducked, rolled, jumped and spun his way out of being hit by multiple rocks as the speed increased and the difficulty increased astronomically. Naruto’s skin was being scratched by the surface of the stones as he finally knew he wasn’t going to dodge one and put his arms in an X shape and prepared for the brunt of the attack.

“ **_FROG_ ** ” “ **_POI_ **” Both pokemon sent attacks to try to stop the rock from hitting their trainer, a Water Pulse and Pin Missile respectively as many leaves cut the large rock into tiny pieces, the Pin Missile and Water Pulse connecting with the cutting leaves and creating an explosion that sent many pokemon running away from the area.

“What the…” Naruto looked and saw his two Pokemon coming his way and making sure he was okay.

“ **_Froga-dier_ ** _” “_ **_Poi-Poi_ ** _”_

“I’m fine guys, thanks for looking out for me.” Naruto looked around as both Pokemon looked at the direction he was looking at.

“But something else saved me. It was a **Razor** **Leaf**.” He said as he recognized the attack from many videos of battles that he would watch and wondered what saved him.

“ **_Froga_ **” Genji closed his eyes and felt movement coming from his west and sent a Water Pulse in that direction, but it once again blocked by a Razor Leaf as Naruto looked and saw a white bird with orange talons, with what looked like a bowtie and brown collar on. He immediately scanned it with his Pokedex and it revealed its info.

**“Dartrix, the Blade Quill Pokemon, and the pre-evolved form of Rowlet. Supremely sensitive to the presence of others, it can detect opponents standing behind it, flinging its sharp feathers to take them out.”**

“A Dartrix, what is it doing here in Petalburg Woods of Hoenn instead of Alola?” Naruto asked as Olympus and Genji stood directly in front of him, seeing if the Pokemon was a friend or foe.

“ **_Froga, Frogadier!_ **” Naruto assumed Genji was asking if it was an enemy as the Dartrix took a step closer and pointed at him.

“ **_Dar, Dartrix!_ **” Naruto looked confused as Genji nodded and took the Luxury Ball Naruto had gotten from the Rich Boy and Naruto connected the dots and smirked, as the Dartrix saw his smirk and smirked back at him, seeing that the human wasn’t stupid as he understood his pokemon and knew how to take care of them.

“So, you want me to prove to you I’m capable of being your trainer. Is that right?” Dartrix could see the pure excitement on his face as he stood up and prepared for a fight.

“In that case, I accept the challenge. I can see you possess strength, you’re just looking for someone who can hold up to your goals. You want to be the strongest?” 

“ **_DARTRIX!_ **” It said as it flew up and stayed in the sky, ready for a battle as Genji stepped to the side. It wasn’t his battle.

“My name is Naruto, and I WILL BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD!” He yelled out as his right arm glowed red, his eyes flashing with power and resolute drive to succeed as Olympus floated next to him.

“Olympus, start this match off, Use Pin Missile and get in close. Then use Fell Stinger!” Olympus fired white lines of energy from its horns as Dartrix flew around them and its beak glowed white and it collided with Olympus’s Fell Stinger.

“Pluck huh, makes it more interesting. Olympus, coat the field with Toxic Spikes, then create an Uproar!”

Poison needles were sent into the ground as it now had a purple color, then Olympus screamed as the sound waves sent Dartrix back a few meters. Dartrix saw this and released a dark grey wind that collided with the Uproar and created shock waves that spread into the woods. It then glowed orange as all of its stats had increased from the move.

“Ominous Wind, and it’s stats increased as well. Alright Olympus, watch it, it’s now even more powerful than before. Use Venoshock and then make a Substitute, catch it off guard.” Olympus sent lines of poison at the Dartrix, who countered by sending a Razor Leaf as poison was spread around the field as trees began to dissolve and disintegrate. Olympus then hid behind a tree as the Dartrix sent leaves around the area, hitting every single tree and catching a glimpse of Olympus behind the tree.

“ _Damn it, it didn’t fall for the Substitute._ ” Naruto thought to himself as the Dartrix was very aware of its surroundings. It then released a second Ominous Wind as Olympus couldn’t get away from it.

“Olympus, use Endure. Make sure you don’t get knocked out!” A blue aura surrounded Olympus as it was hit dead on by the Ominous Wind and sent into the ground. Seeing this, Dartrix’s beak glowed white as it dive bombed towards Olympus.

Dartrix crashed into Olympus and it stood tall before feeling the effects of the Toxic Spikes. It looked at Naruto with a glare, before being confused when he smirked.

“Olympus, USE SLUDGE WAVE.” Dartrix turned around too late as a wave of poison hit it dead on and surrounded it, as Dartrix felt the poison spread around its body, noticing Olympus was once again in mid-air, and it turned back to see it hit the substitute as it poofed away.

“Now use Venoshock, point-blank!” Olympus rushed right at the Dartrix and sent a line of poison once again, knocking the Dartrix off its talons as it fell to the floor once again.

“Finish it Olympus, use Iron Tail and take it down.” Olympus’s tail turned to steel for the first time as it flipped in mid-air, and before it could slam into the Dartrix, it glowed white and hit Olympus with its wing.

“No way, it used Facade at the last second!” Naruto and Genji looked on as both Pokemon were sent into the ground by each other, dust pillars refusing to let them see who won. The dust settled, and both Pokemon stood tall, not willing to back down as Naruto could see Dartrix was about to collapse from the poison, but was standing on its talons on willpower alone. He nodded with respect for the Pokemon, as it reminded him of himself and his unwillingness to give up, and brought back memories of the past, both good and bad.

“ _Why don’t you stay down? Why don’t you just die already?_ ”

“ _Never give up Naruto, otherwise you’ll prove them right_.”

He saw it in Dartrix’s eyes, the willpower to stand and fight, the feeling of wanting to win so badly, the drive of success it so desperately wanted. This pokemon was going to be his, and he will take it to the top, like the rest of his family.

“Olympus, finish this. IRON TAIL!” Olympus’s tail once again turned to steel as Dartrix’s wings turned white and it used Facade one last time, going against the pain it was under and looking at its new trainer with a smile. Yup, this would be its new trainer, a trainer that had the drive to win, a trainer that knew what he was doing.

They rushed each other, both Pokemon ready to take the other down, to prove themselves for their new family. They drew closer and closer, time stopped as they looked at each other, and revved up their attacks.

“ **_POI_ ** ” “ **_DAR_ **”

The attacks connected, and shock waves of wind exploded off of the collision as the two powerful attacks as Naruto and Genji stood there, calm and undaunted as the wind smacked against their eyes and bodies, not willing to miss a second of the end of the battle as the pokemon refused to let up on their struggle to gain a footing, as screams bellowed out from the two as Olympus’s tail overpowered Dartrix’s wind, and it was smacked by the Iron Tail straight in its face and was sent through many trees. Naruto followed the path of destruction caused by the final collision as he and Genji saw Olympus and Dartrix, Olympus floating over it as it had won the fight. Naruto kneeled down and hugged Olympus, before it took a seat on his shoulders and gathered its bearings while feeling the pain of the hard-hitting battle, before Naruto gave Dartrix a Pecha Berry, which it ate and cured its poison.

“You fought extremely well and hard, I could see it in your eyes how badly you must’ve wanted that win.” Dartrix couldn’t move any other body part besides its head as it slowly nodded and sent a pained smile in his direction as its vision was blurry and it was scratched all over with bruises marking its body.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to get you the help you need, it’s only fair considering you are a part of the family now.” He took the Luxury Ball and placed it against Dartrix’s head, who slightly moved its head in the direction and pressed the button, red energy being retracted at the Luxury Ball shook in his hands before poofing, and Naruto smiled while Genji looked on with a smile and Olympus slowly floated towards the ball.

“Alright you two, get in your Pokeballs, I need to go back to Petalburg to make a healing stop. Especially you Olympus…” Naruto’s eyes significantly softened as he hugged Olympus, “I’m really proud of you. You pulled through in the end. Now return.” Olympus didn’t put up any resistance as it rested inside of its Beast Ball, and Naruto looked at Genji.

“Genji, let’s run.” They both sprinted out of the forest at their highest speeds, going back to the Pokemon Center in Petalburg and making sure their friends were healed.

* * *

**(3 Hours Later)**

Nurse Joy was standing at her desk, watching over her Chansey as no one came in for healing today. She was very surprised when a Frogadier sped into the Pokemon Center, holding two Pokeballs as a scratched boy, the one from yesterday, ran in after it, panting heavily as she walked up to the teen.

“Excuse me, are you okay Mister?” She asked politely as he stood straight and she slightly looked up at him, seeing the scratch marks on his face as he said with a sheepish grin, “Yeah, I’m fine. May you please heal my two Pokemon, we caught a new one, and it needs healing.”

“ _He puts his Pokemon before himself huh, what a nice, young man._ ” She said with a smile as Chansey came up and took the two pokeballs from Genji as Nurse Joy added on, “Look at yourself, young man! You are scratched all over, let me take care of you at least.” Naruto nodded in acceptance as Nurse Joy bandaged his face and left arm as she asked, “What happened to you that gave you these scratches, young man?”

“I was training with my Pokemon over in Petalburg Woods, and I might’ve got scratched by a couple rocks.” He said with a nervous look on his face as she glared at him and said, “Well young man, make sure you take care of yourself as well.”

“My pokemon will always come before me, they are my family.” She saw the unwavering respect he had for his Pokemon as she nodded and smiled, before giving his Pokeballs back to him.

“Please, come again, and make sure you take care of yourself, young man.”

Naruto smiled and walked again towards Route 104’s beach, planning to meet his new Dartrix and fully introduce himself.

5 hours later, it was sundown and Naruto reached the beach along with Genji, who battled a couple of trainers along the way that thought they could hold a candle to his skill. They walked slower this time instead of running at fast speeds to savor the walk and also earn more PokeDollars from beating the trainers.

“Alright, Olympus, come out again.” Olympus floated around, looking cleaned and healed as it cheered and went into the water, playing next to the shore.

“Now, Dartrix, come out and introduce yourself.” The Luxury Ball opened with a lime green energy as Dartrix saluted with its wings and looked at Olympus and Genji, before looking at Naruto and perching itself onto his shoulders.

“Nice to meet you, Dartrix. I suppose you want to truly meet and talk to us.” It squawked and flew around Naruto and set its talons back onto the floor as it looked at Olympus and Genji.

“First, I need to scan you with the Pokedex, is that okay with you?”

Dartrix nodded and started having a conversation with Genji and Olympus as the Pokedex’s robotic voice rang out to the group.

**Dartrix, The Blade Quill Pokemon**

**Entry: Supremely sensitive to the presence of others, it can detect opponents standing behind it, flinging its sharp feathers to take them out.**

**Type: Grass/Flying**

**Ability: Overgrow**

**Gender: Female**

**Moves: Leafage, Astonish, Razor Leaf, Pluck, Facade, Ominous Wind, Foresight, Fury Attack, Synthesis, Return**

“Hmm, good move set so far, but we can do way more.” Dartrix nodded as Naruto saw the moon was coming up.

“Do you want a nickname, both Genji and Olympus accepted theirs.” Dartrix nodded and perched itself once again on Naruto’s shoulder, looking into his eyes and seeing that he was in a deep state of thought as he had a breakthrough. Decidueye is the evolved form of Dartrix, and Decidueye were known for being experts with hunting and arrows, whether it would be a leaf arrow or their signature move, **Spirit Shackle**.

“Artemis…” Dartrix, Genji, and Olympus looked towards Naruto, who was staring at the moon as its reflection bounced off of his eyes, the calm waves splashing against the beach and creating a peaceful environment, as the four could hear the ocean and almost heard a song in the distance.

“Your name will be Artemis. Do you like it?” Naruto smiled as Dartrix cheered and Genji nodded in acceptance. Naruto sat down and laid in the sand, looking up at the moon rising in the sky as his Pokemon stayed close to him, feeling his warmth as he closed his eyes and could only hear the ocean and his Pokemon as he felt truly at peace with himself.

“For the next 3 days, we head into the Petalburg Woods and train, for the next time we leave that place, we will be fighting against our first bump in the road on our way to success. The Gym Leader of Rustboro City, Roxanne. I know we will win however, I know in my mind we will go in there and show them that we are the real deal.” His pokemon nodded at his voice, the only thing that was showing true emotion from him as his face looked calm, before he opened his eyes as it glowed in the night, and a blue rune glimmered into existence on his right arm, showing through the bandages.

“It’s times like this where I truly feel at ease with myself, with no nightmares or people to drag my back to my hell.”

Artemis looked confused as Genji and Olympus both understood what he was talking about and filled it in on what happened to their trainer.

“Hoenn has really been a blessing to me, and I only just started my journey. I can’t wait until I meet new people and find some more family.”

Naruto put his hand into the air, and grasped at the moon, his pokemon by his side.

**“We will take on the world. Even legendary pokemon won’t be able to stop us.”**

* * *

Two people in the shadows had arrived within a port city, one using the alleyways of the city, while the other used the rooftops. They both had arrived at the roof of the Department Store as night shrouded them from being seen.

“Lilycove City is truly a beauty at night. Sometimes it makes me want to book into the hotel.” The one with the brown trench coat said as he smoked a cigar and looked at the sea and many islands that surrounded the city.

“You know Looker, if you continue to smoke, you’re going to end up with lung cancer.” Said the other man, a tall man with white hair as he looked around for shady figures.

“Oh please, Jiraiya, as if I need advice from you on habits to give up. We both know you’re never going to stop peeping on missions. The only reason you’re still not fired is because you’re the best information gatherer and infiltrator in the International Police, besides me of course.” 

“Enough about that, have you seen any of them?” Looker said with a serious tone as Jiraiya shook his head and said, “No, but we know they are back. They were broken out by that fucking rat Danzo, and now they are trying to do this shit again.”

“Archie and Maxie must be put in prison again, or else the same thing that happened to my home region will happen again.” Jiraiya finished with a dark look as Looker nodded and said, “Why didn’t Danzo get executed? I thought he was finally caught with crimes against humanity and many accounts of murder and pokemon experimentation.”

“Because Orochimaru fucking saved him, that little fucking snake. Now they are both after the Weather Trio, along with Archie and Maxie. They will not stop until they are reawakened again. Team Magma and Aqua are back, and now the Hoenn Region is under a direct threat.”

“At least the Red and Blue Orbs were shattered. That buys us a little time to capture them before they reconnect soon.” Looker said as Jiraiya nodded and remembered what happened that day, how the Red and Blue Orbs were shattered by Minato.

“We’ve located all the fragments, besides one, and I think you know what fragment I’m talking about.” Looker said with a glare as Jiraiya himself glared at nothing as he tightened his fists at how Minato and Kushina mishandled the situation, along with everyone from that fucking city.

“Yeah, the fragment that controls the beasts, and stops them from going on nonstop rampages. I just can’t believe they actually stooped that low, and created a scapegoat out of their own son, my own fucking godson.” Jiraiya nearly yelled out with gritted teeth as he remembered the absolute rage he felt when he found out Minato and Kushina had mistreated him so badly. Jiraiya felt so angry that he went away from Kaiho, his home region and his home city of Konoha, and never looked back. He hasn’t seen his former student Minato, his city, or even the love of his life who never returned the love back, Tsunade. He simply kept away.

“We’re lucky Professor Sarutobi had helped him escape, otherwise we’d have to search the entire world to find him. Sarutobi did him a favor, getting him out of that cursed city.” Looker said as he puffed out another smoke, Jiraiya sighing in dismay.

“You should’ve seen the disappointment on my face when I found out. Not only Minato and Kushina, but Tsunade, Kakashi, even his own brother and sister. They all treated him as a demon incarnate, as the sole reason that it happened. I haven’t spoken to them since that day, even when they’ve tried to tell me that they have realized their mistakes. It doesn’t and will never change the fact that they were horrible people to my godson, a person who can stop the destruction of a region. Only Sensei saw who he truly was, a child who had and still has his life ahead of him, and a person who will become one of the strongest in the world.” 

“We now know he is in the region due to getting in Sarutobi’s good graces, thanks to you and how you never hated him. We take two sides, I hunt down Magma and Aqua. You focus on Root, the snake, and your godson. And Jiraiya,” Looker put his hand on Jiraiya’s shoulder and gave him a look of understanding, 

“ **Make sure he becomes strong, because he’s already free of his past.”**

Looker disappeared into the shadows of the building, leaving to hunt down Team Magma and Team Aqua and capture Archie and Maxie and make sure Groudon and Kyogre won’t be revived again, even if it cost him his life.

Jiraiya stood still at the edge of the Lilycove Department Store, looking at where the Moon and Sea met as he forgot all perverse thoughts in his mind and became his old-self, the old-self that fought in the Kantonian/Johtonian War, the old-self that will always be remembered in the history books as the Man who fought off 1,000 men by himself and with his team by his side, the Man who stood his ground at the Indigo Plateau against the Legendary Birds: **Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos**. The man who saved Kanto and was directly responsible for the peace treaty Thirty Years ago and paved the way for the joint Elite Four of Kanto and Johto. The teacher of the Yellow Flash of Kaiho, Minato Namikaze.

**The Gallant Jiraiya**

He once again was being called upon, to stop this upcoming battle as nature’s forces prepared to collide against each other, to stop Danzo and Orochimaru from trying to control the legendary pokemon: **Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza**. He looked and saw an eye in the moon’s place, blue eyes looking at him as he remembered meeting his godson for the first time, and immediately becoming attached to him as he saw the mistreatment, but couldn’t do anything as he was needed back at the International Police. He tried to get Minato and Kushina to treat Naruto better, because only Jiraiya knew what those runes on Naruto’s arm truly meant until he told them.

**At birth, Naruto absorbed fragments of the Red and Blue Orbs, becoming the only thing that could calm down the Legendary Pokemon**

Nobody realized this and simply thought Naruto was born with those runes and called the legendaries to destroy Kaiho. No, it was quite the opposite.

**Naruto saved the Kaiho Region from full annihilation**

Now he needed to find his godson again and make sure he has grown correctly and flourished. He will teach him, he will help him.

**He Will Protect Him**

“Naruto, I promise, and I swear this on Arceus’s name.” He looked towards the sky, and saw the moon gleaming against the water, crashing waves signifying the swear that he took was one to be kept at all costs, and that would be acknowledged.

“ **No one will decide what you are going to be but yourself. First, it was Sensei to guide you. Now, it’s my turn to help you on your journey. I promise to help you accept your past, and move on from that disgusting time of your life, or my name isn’t the Gallant Jiraiya**.”

He released a pokemon, an amphibian-like pokemon with sickly blue skin, orange throat and poisonous orange claw. It was his **Toxicroak** , his pokemon that he just started training up for International Police missions as he was one of the main people called for big missions, and was always partnered with Looker.

“Come on Toxicroak, we need to go take down an old friend of ours, and find someone very dear to me.”

Toxicroak nodded, and they both disappeared, jumping into the shadows as though they weren’t even there in the first place, leaving behind a trail of wind as the moon shined upon their last location, while on the other side of the region, Naruto slept calmly with his pokemon around him, unknowingly heading straight into a hornet’s nest as underneath the earth, magma covered a pokemon deep in slumber, ready to be awakened once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question: What is your favorite Pokémon ROM game. I'd have to say mine is Light Platinum, as I always enjoy playing it.
> 
> May's Actions: I felt like adding this part in to sort of try something. I don't know if I am going to pair Naruto with May, but it is certainly an option I am trying to work out in my head. I just sort of used it as a way to get Naruto to start feeling crushes, as he is certainly not dense in this story, look at the previous chapter for more info on his character. If anyone can give me suggestions on a pairing for this story, I'm all ears. Right now I'm debating between Flannery, May, Skyla, or Lillie, but I'll seriously look at any suggestions.
> 
> Naruto's Relationship with Norman: They are master and student, along with Brendan. Norman taught Naruto and Brendan about battling, I'll go in depth with a backstory on that when Naruto returns to Petalburg for his 5th badge.
> 
> Naruto's Dream: Obviously it is the Weather Trio, and I plan on having Naruto connected with two other Legendary Pokémon besides those three, after all the story is titled Liberation, and a certain region is all about the Liberation of Pokémon.
> 
> Who Was The Rich Boy: It is Rich Boy Winston, and the Luxury Ball drop is actually a part of his character. He actually has a chance to drop a Luxury Ball if you beat him, so I kept that in character.
> 
> Dartrix: I love Decidueye, and I thought it would fit Naruto's team well. Right now, his final team is consisting of a Water/Dark Type in Genji, a Poison/Dragon Type in Olympus, and a Grass/Ghost Type with Flying type moves in Artemis
> 
> His Next Pokemon: One will be from Kanto, then it will be from Hoenn, and then from Hoenn. He will have more than 6 Pokemon though, as he will rotate his team.
> 
> Jiraiya and Looker: Jiraiya being apart of the International Police fits so well, it is uncanny. With his Spy Network and ability to sneak into anywhere, he'd be an amazing informational man as well as infiltrator along with Looker, who I brought to Hoenn as his partner. Jiraiya feels anger of what happened to Naruto in the past, and wants to help him on his journey. I'm pretty sure anyone with a godchild will feel this way if their real parents are mishandling a child.
> 
> Naruto's Purpose: That's right, Naruto absorbed fragments of both the Red and Blue Orbs. If you have watched the Hoenn anime, you would know that Pikachu absorbed the Blue Orb and had runes over his whole body, and I've done the same with Naruto here, although he's absorbed fragments. This is very important because he can lose control of himself, but the orbs counteract each other and let Naruto have control of his body. The fragments allow for Naruto to basically calm down the two titans, so he keeps it under his bandages as to not arise suspicion. 
> 
> How Naruto and Rayquaza are connected: It will be in a later chapter, just know the Ozone Layer titan looks out for our boy.
> 
> Naruto's Upbringing: Yeah, Kaiho botched it big time. It partially falls on Jiraiya because he didn't let the others know, but it mostly falls on Minato as he is the one who shattered the orbs. Naruto's full birth will be a whole chapter in of itself, as well as his full past. I can't wait to get there, as there is so much I am willing to reveal.
> 
> Jiraiya's Acolades: Yeah, the man is a badass, even more so than the anime. Over there he was considered a legend for surviving against Hanzo the Salamander along with Orochimaru and Tsunade, but here, oh man the guy is insane. He stared down the Legendary Birds at the Indigo Plateau, took on a whole army by himself, and brought peace to two regions. The dude is a legend and deserves his recognition.
> 
> Danzo and Orochimaru: Maxie and Archie are obviously going to be the main villains, but Danzo and Orochimaru are going to be the main problems for Naruto, and I'll cover that at a later date.
> 
> When will Naruto see Minato and Kushina again: His Second Region, he will see them again. What he will do when he sees them again, I don't know.
> 
> Next Chapter will be the Gym Battle against Roxanne, The first Encounter with Aqua and Magma, our first look at Brendan, and a spoiler of Naruto's next Pokémon.


End file.
